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MAJOR-GENERAL    NELSON    A.    MILES. 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS 


AND  OBSERVATIONS  OF 


GENERAL  NELSON  A:  MILES 


EMBRACING  A  BRIEF  VIEW  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

OR 

FROM  NEW  ENGLAND  TO  THE  GOLDEN  GATE 


AND  THE  STORY  OF  HIS  INDIAN  CAMPAIGNS 
WITH  COMMENTS  ON  THE 


EXPLORATION,  DEVELOPMENT  AND  PROGRESS 


OF 


OUR  GREAT  WESTERN  EMPIRE 


COPIOUSLY  ILLUSTRATED  WITH  GRAPHIC  PICTURES  BY 
FREDERIC     REMINGTON 

AND  OTHER  EMINENT  ARTISTS 


THE  WERNER  COMPANY 

CHICAGO     NEW  YORK 

1896 


Copyright  1896 
By  NELSON  A.  MILES 


15275. 


J&J&&  DEDICATED 


the  memory  of  the  heroes  and  patriots 
who  have  made  the  soldier's  sacrifice 
while  protecting  the  innocent  against  sav- 
age ferocity,  maintaining  their  country's 
honor  and  perpetuity,  and  advancing 
lines  of  civilization. 


PREFACE 

¥¥¥ 

THIS  BOOK  is  largely  the  result  of  a  desire  to  comply  with  the  wishes 
of  friends  who  have  expressed  the  opinion  that  such  a  work  would 
find  a  goodly  number  of  interested  readers.  It  was  no  part  of  my 
purpose  to  write  my  memoirs  or  a  history ;  but  rather  to  retrace, 
with  such  readers  as  shall  choose  -to  accompany  me,  some  portions  of  the 
journey  of  life  that  now  lie  in  the  past. 

It  is  impossible  in  a  single  volume  to  do  justice  to  all  my  companions 
who  were  engaged  in  the  great  cause  of  the  Civil  War,  or  those  who 
engaged  in  the  war  for  civilization  along  our  western  frontier ;  yet  it  has 
been  my  endeavor  to  do  injustice  to  none. 

I  have  by  no  means  exhausted  the  important  features  that  marked  the 
original  journey,  but  have  aimed  to  point  out  briefly,  as  far  as  practicable, 
the  more  interesting  and  instructive  events  so  that  the  time  of  the  reader 
may  be  spent  not  only  agreeably,  but  with  some  degree  of  profit. 

In  presenting  these  thoughts  and  observations  I  have  hoped  to  meet  the 
favor  of  the  intelligent,  generous  American,  who  I  know  to  be  most  con- 
siderate, and  I  trust  I  may  rely  upon  his  liberal  consideration,  especially 
when  it  is  remembered  that  I  have  been  obliged  to  gather  and  prepare 
much  of  the  material  at  spare  hours  during  the  time  largely  taken  up  with 
the  cares  of  exacting  official  duties  and  responsibilities.  In  this  I  have 
had  the  earnest  assistance  of  Mr.  N.  E.  Dawson,  and  for  his  faithful  and 
zealous  labor  I  desire  to  express  my  appreciation. 

If  this  narrative  shall  inspire  thought  or  promote  a  taste  for  further 
research  and  study  along  the  diversified  lines  of  development  in  our  great 
and  growing  country,  my  efforts  will  not  have  been  in  vain.  I  have  also 
endeavored  to  illustrate  the  difficulties  and  dangers  to  which  my  compan- 
ions in  arms  were  exposed,  in  order  that,  if  possible,  their  services  and 
achievements  might  be  more  fully  appreciated  by  the  beneficiaries  who 
are  now  enjoying  the  fruits  of  their  heroism  and  sacrifices. 

NELSON  A.  MILES. 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY,  Washington,  D.  C. 

February  1,  1896. 

(vii) 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

MAJOR-GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES •        Frontispiece 

MILES  STANDISH         ........•••  19 

DANIEL  MILES       ........                    ...  20 

EXPEDITION  OF  PILGRIM  FATHERS  AGAINST  THE  INDIANS 

CAPITOL  BUILDING,  BOSTON,  MASS.  .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .21 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN        ...........  27 

LIEUTENANT  MILES   ...........  30 

GOVERNOR  E.  D.  MORGAN     ..........  31 

GENERAL  GEO.  G.  MEADE           .          .          .          .          .          ...          .          .  32 

MAJOR-GENERAL  FRANCIS  S.  BARLOW      ........  32 

GENERAL  WINFIELD  S.  HANCOCK        .                    ......  33 

UNION  SOLDIERS  GAMBLING  WITH  CONFEDERATE  MONEY           ....  38 

VILLAGE  OF  APPOMATTOX            .          .          .          .          .          .          ...          .  39 

APPROACH  OF  GENERAL  LEE  UNDER  FLAG  OF  TRUCE      .....  45 

BATTLE  OF  SPOTTSYLVANIA          .........  35 

MERIWETHER  LEWIS       ...........  53 

WM.  CLARK      ............  54 

GENERAL  PIKE      ............  56 

KIT  CARSON      ............  57 

PIKE'S  PEAK  AS  PIKE  SAW  IT        .........  62 

SITTING  BULL             ...........  65 

PLAN  OF  MOUNDS  AT  MARIETTA,  OHIO    ........  68 

KILLING  THE  MAMMOTH     ...........  69 

SKULL,  IMAGE  VASES,  AND  CUPS  OF  THE  MOUND-BUILDERS       ....  72 

CUPS  AND  JARS          ...........  74 

COPPER  TOOLS  AND  WEAPONS  MADE  BY  THE  MOUND- BUILDERS          ...  75 

PRIMITIVE  MAN           ...........  77 

Sioux  WARRIORS            ...........  79 

FIRE-MAKING  BY  THE  PRE-HISTORIC  MAN 84 

(1) 


2  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  GEN.  NELSON  A.  MILES. 

PAGE 

AN  AGED  INDIAN  CHIEF        ..........  93 

POCAHONTAS  BRINGING  COEN  TO  THE  COLONISTS          .....  94 

INDIAN  COUNCIL   ............  96 

INDIAN  BONNET,  PIPES,  ETC.       .........  99 

INDIAN  DANCES  AND  SELF  TOKTURE        ........  105 

TECUMSEH          ............  109 

SOLDIERS  OPENING  THEIR  OWN  VEINS  FOR  WANT  OF  WATER           .          .          .  Ill 

BLACK  HAWK             ...........  116 

MOSES  KEOKUK     .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .119 

CREASING  THE  WILD  HORSE      •.          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  123 

INDIANS  KILLING  BUFFALOES  IN  SUMMER         .          .          .          .          .          .          .124 

HUNTING  BUFFALOES  IN  WINTER        ........  128 

CAPTAIN  BALDWIN  CHASED  BY  WOLVES  .          .          .          .          .          .          .130 

LEAN  BEAR  ROUSING  THE  INDIANS     .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  139 

GENERAL  G.  M.  DODGE          ..........  141 

FATE  OF  THE  MICHIGAN  SOLDIERS       ........  142 

SOLDIERS  DISCOVER  GOLD  IN  THE  BLACK  HILLS       .          .          .          .          .          .  143 

COLONEL  GEORGE  A.  FORSYTH    .........  146 

THE  SCOUTS  AND  THE  RATTLESNAKE       ........  149 

CAPTAIN  JACK            ...........  152 

IN  THE  LAVA  BEDS        ...........  153 

INDIAN  MODE  OF  BURIAL             .........  158 

WHAT  BECAME  OF  THE   BUFFALOES          ........  159 

INDIAN  VILLAGE  ROUTED            .........  161 

AFTER  THE  SIEGE           .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  163 

LOCUST  SCOURGE        ...........  164 

BEN  CLARK            ............  165 

WM.  F.  SCHMALSLE,  SCOUT         .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  173 

THE  VICTORY  OF  THE  PRIVATES      .........  175 

THE  GERMAINE  SISTERS     ......  176 

TWENTY-FIVE  TO  ONE   ......  177 

CAPTAIN  R.  H.  PRATT       .....  180 

INDIANS  ON  THE  LOOKOUT     ......  183 

INDIAN  CAPS,  TOBACCO  POUCHES,  ETC.           .          .          .  185 

"  THAT'S  PEETRIFACTION  "       .          .          .          .  187 

GENERAL  MILES'  ENVOY  TO  THE  HOSTILES  ON  THE  STAKED  PLAIN         .          .  189 

RED  CLOUD,  Sioux  CHIEF      .....  194 

SITTING  BULL  AND  THE  RED  SHIRT    ....  195 

SPOTTED  TAIL,  Sioux  CHIEF            .          .  190 


ILLUSTRATIONS..  3 

PAGE 

GENERAL  GEORGE  A.  CUSTER    .........  201 

GENERAL  TERRY'S  LAST  ORDER  TO  CUSTER     .......  205 

THE  CUSTER  BATTLEFIELD  Two  YEARS  AFTER    ......  209 

RAIN-IN-THE-FACE          ...........  211 

SCENE  ON  THE  STEAMBOAT          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  214 

CAPTAIN  ANSON  MILLS           ..........  216 

"YELLOWSTONE"  KELLEY            .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  217 

MARCHING  IN  WINTER            .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  219 

MEETING  BETWEEN   THE   LINES.     "Goo  ALMIGHTY  MADE  ME  AN    INDIAN,  AND 

NOT  AN  AGENCY  INDIAN"       .........  223 

CHIEF  GALL 225 

MONTANA  BLIZZARD       ...........  231 

CAPTAIN  BALDWIN  HUNTING  THE  HOSTILE  CAMP          .....  233 

"You  HAVE  HAD  YOUR  LAST  BREAKFAST"    .......  237 

JOHN  BRUGHIER,  SCOUT     ..........  239 

SURRENDER  OF  LITTLE  CHIEF          .........  242 

WHITE  BULL  AND  HORSE  ROAD          ........  244 

INDIANS  FIRING  THE  PRAIRIE          ........  245 

LAME  DEER  FIRING  AT  GENERAL  MILES     .......  251 

THE  CRAZY  HORSE  FIGHT 257 

CHIEF  JOSEPH             ...........  260 

"You  WILL  Now  HAVE  TO  Go  TO  WAR" 261 

CALLING  BACK  THE  STEAMBOAT           ........  265 

PURSUING  THE  INDIANS           ..........  269 

CAPTAIN  HALE 272 

AFTER  THE  BATTLE       ...........  276 

'•THOSE  INDIANS  ARE  BAD" 279 

THE  LAME  DEER  FIGHT         ..........  281 

INDIAN  GALA  DAY    ...........  284 

CURLEY,  SOLE  SURVIVOR  OF  OUSTER'S  LAST  BATTLE         .....  287 

CUSTER'S  LAST  STAND        ..........  288 

MOUNTING  THE  INFANTRY  ON  CAPTURED  PONIES      ......  291 

INDIANS  WATCHING  THE  ENEMY'S  CAMP     .......  298 

CAPTAIN  BENNETT          ...........  299 

THE  MOUNTAIN  BUFFALO             .........  300 

YELLOWSTONE  FALLS    .            ..........  301 

"  OLD  FAITHFUL  "  GEYSER  IN  WINTER,  YELLOWSTONE  PARK          .          .          .  302 

"  BEE  HIVE  "  CRYSTALLIZED  GEYSER,  YELLOWSTONE  PARK        ....  303 

" GIANT"  GEYSER,  YELLOWSTONE  PARK      .......  304 


4  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  GEN.  NELSON  A.  MILES. 

PAGE 

FIGHTING  OVER  THE  CAPTURED  HERD    .....                    •  307 

CROW  FOOT,  SON  OF  SITTING  BULL  .  ..... 

INDIAN  RAIDING  PARTY          .          .  ...... 

"I  MAKE  You  A  PRESENT"       .          .                    .....  315 

THE  "WHISPERING  SPIRIT"            .......                    •  317 

MARCHING  ON  THE  STAKED  PLAIN      .  ... 

SCENE  IN  THE  YELLOWSTONE  VALLEY     . 

"CASTLE"  GEYSER,  YELLOWSTONE  PARK     . 

SURRENDER  OF  CHIEF  JOSEPH.     "FROM  WHERE  THE  SUN  Now  STANDS,  I  FIGHT 

NO  MORE  AGAINST  THE  WHITE  MAN  "  ..... 

INDIAN  MEDICINE  MAN           ..........  334 

CHIRICAHUA  APACHE  STUDENTS,  1894.          ......  343 

FACES  OF  NOTED  INDIANS      ..........  349 

AN  EARLY  FINDING  IN  COLORADO      ........  356 

PLACER  MINING  IN  1858        ..........  358 

BRIGHAM  YOUNG       ...........  363 

THE  MORMON  EXODUS             ..........  364 

MORMON  TEMPLE       ...........  368 

DISTANT  VIEW  OF  SALT  LAKE  CITY        ........  369 

SCENE  ON  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER         ........  372 

MOUNT  HOOD 373 

CASCADES  OF  THE  COLUMBIA.     INDIAN  DIPPING  FOR  SALMON         .          .          .  377 

SHOSHONE  FALLS,  IDAHO         ..........  382 

DR.  MARCUS  WHITMAN      ..........  385 

MRS.  NARCISSA  PRENTICE  WHITMAN        ........  386 

THE  OLD  WAGON 387 

WHITMAN    PLEADING   FOR  OREGON    BEFORE   DANIEL  WEBSTER  AND    PRESIDENT 

TAYLOR 388 

CHIRICHUA   APACHES    AS    THEY    ARRIVED    AT   CARLISLE    FROM    FORT    MARION, 

FLORIDA,  NOVEMBER  4,  1885.     THE  SAME  CHILDREN  FOUR  MONTHS  AFTER 

ARRIVING  AT  CARLISLE    .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  393 

THE  SIGN  LANGUAGE         ..........  398 

DIZZY  HEIGHTS     ............  401 

WATCHING  THE  COMING  OF  THE  WHITE  MAN      ......  405 

CAPTAIN  BALDWIN         ...........  406 

CHERUBS,  INDIAN  BABIES  IN  THEIR  CRADLES       ......  408 

INDIAN  WEAPONS           ...........  410 

,  GENERALS  CROOK  AND  TERRY    .........  413 

ALASKAN  TOTEM  (1) 420 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  5 

PAGE 

GROUP  OF  ESKIMO  GIKLS       ..........  423 

NATIVE  KAYAKS  ............  424 

SEAL  "  ROOKEEY  " 427 

ALASKAN  TOTEM  (2).           ..........  430 

ARIZONA  VEGETATION  (GIANT  CACTUS)  ........  433 

CLIFF  DWELLINGS  ON  BEAVER  CREEK,  ARIZONA,  THREE  MILES  FROM  FORT  VERDI, 

SOMETIMES  CALLED  MONTEZUMA'S  PALACE     ......  437 

OLDEST  HOUSE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  SANTA  Ff ,  NEW  MEXICO        .          .          .  438 

PETRIFIED  FOREST,  ARIZONA       .........  439 

THE  PAINTED  DESERT             ..........  440 

A  CANON  A  MILE  DEEP    ..........  441 

SniNi-Mo  ALTAR  FROM  BRINK  OF  MARBLE  CANON    .                    ....  442 

APACHE  CRUELTY      ...........  446 

CLAIMING  His  REWARD           ..........  447 

His  ACTIONS  WERE  CURIOUS      .........  448 

CAPTAIN  MAUS      ............  451 

CROSSING  THE  HAROS  RIVER       .........  454 

ONE  INDIAN  ATTEMPTED  TO  RIDE  BY  ME        .......  457 

GERONIMO         ............  459 

OUR  INDIANS  WERE  YELLING  AND  PREPARING  TO  FIGHT     .     .          .          .          .  464 

THE  DEATH  OF  CAPTAIN  CRAWFORD   ........  466 

APACHES  WATCHING  THE  TROOPS  WITH  GLASSES      ......  469 

APACHES  IN  AMBUSH          ..........  473 

FORT  BOWIE,  ARIZONA            ..........  477 

HELIOGRAPH   STATION         ..........  482 

HELIOGRAPH    SYSTEM,  DEPARTMENT  OF  ARIZONA      .          .          .          .          .  484 

MOUNTAIN  FASTNESS  —  COCHISE'S  STRONGHOLD     ......  489 

DRUNKEN  INDIANS  IN  CAMP  ..........  496 

ON  THE  WAY  TO  FLORIDA          .........  502 

GENERAL  MILES  AT  TELEGRAPH  OFFICE           .......  503 

CAPTAIN  LEONARD  WOOD  ..........  507 

FINDING  THE  MURDERED  MEXICANS         ........  508 

"  You  ARE  THE  MAN  I  WANT  TO  TALK  WITH  " 511 

LAWTON'S  PURSUIT  OF  GERONIMO    .........  515 

EXPLAINING  THE  SITUATION         .........  522 

VICTORIO,  APACHE  CHIEF         ..........  523 

GERONIMO  AND  THE  HELIOGRAPH          ........  524 

APACHE  WAITING  FOR  A  VICTIM              .....          ...  526 

APACHE  BRIDE  529 


6          PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  GEN.  NELSON  A.  MILES. 

PAGE 

LITTLE  MIKE,  INDIAN  BOY  REARED  BY  WHITE  PEOPLE  ....  529 
OFFICERS  WHO  WERE  ENGAGED  IN  THE  CAPTURE  OF  GEHONIMO  AT  FORT  BOWIE, 

ARIZONA     ............  530 

INDIAN  WEAPONS  AND  GARMENTS                      .......  531 

SAN  CARLOS  MILITARY  CAMP      .........  533 

TONTO  WARRIOR   ............  534 

MOQUI  INDIAN  GIRL            ..........  535 

MOJAVE  RUNNERS           ...                    .                    .....  537 

ARTESIAN  WELLS      ...........  546 

SWEETWATER  DAM          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  549 

REDWOOD  PIPE,  SAN  BERNARDINO  COUNTY,  CALIFORNIA       ....  551 

FLUME  BUILDING.     SPRINGING  IN  THE  BOTTOM  PLANK     .....  554 

TUNNEL  PORTAL,  SAN  DIEGO  FLUME           .......  556 

PLAINS  TRAVEL  BEFORE  THE  RAILROADS  CAME        ......  560 

THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  WAY            ........  561 

AT  THE  HUNDREDTH  MERIDIAN      .........  565 

PORTRAITS  OF  MAJOR  SIMON  SNYDER,  ADJUTANT  G.  W.  BAIRD,  LIEUT.  ALLEN,  AND 

CAPT.  LAWTON        ••••.....'..  569 

MOUNT  SHASTA           •••••......  576 

GLACIER  POINT,  YOSEMITE  VALLEY         •••.....  577 

LELAND  STANFORD    ..........  578 

LELAND  STANFORD  UNIVERSITY,  PALO  ALTO,  CALIFORNIA          .          .                    .  579 

IRRIGATING  DITCHES.     ORANGE  GROVE        ......  581 

ORANGE  GROVE  NEAR  Los  ANGELES       ....  583 

MARKET  STREET,  SAN  FRANCISCO  ....  58Q 

A  SCENE  IN  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA 539 

GOLDEN  GATE,  SAN  FRANCISCO  ....  591 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    I. 

IN    NEW    ENGLAND    FIFTY    YEARS    AGO. 

PAGES 

Purpose  of  This  Book  —  The  Sentiment  of  Country  Universal  —  A  Democracy  Natural 
in  America  —  The  Change  from  Primitive  Life  to  the  Present,  and  the  Men 
Who  Made  it  —  Early  New  England  Colonists  —  Influence  of  Climate  —  Mas- 
sachusetts—  The  Influence  of  New  England  Ideas  in  Our  History  —  The 
Indian  in  New  England  —  Life  There  Fifty  Years  Ago  —  The  Author's  Youth 
and  Ancestry  —  Stories  and  Their  Effect  Upon  Inclination  —  Before  the 
War — Earliest  Military  Training 17-24 

CHAPTER    II. 

THE    GREAT    CIVIL    WAR. 

The  Questions  at  Issue  —  Election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  —  General  Scott  —  Observations 
Relating  to  the  War  —  Raising  a  Company  for  the  Union  Service  —  Elected 
and  Commissioned  Captain  —  Takes  the  Field  as  First  Lieutenant  —  Detailed 
to  Staff  Duty  —  Various  Promotions  —  The  Second  Army  Corps  —  The  Grand 
Record  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 25-35 

CHAPTER    III. 

LAST    SCENES    OF    THE    GREAT    WAR. 

Battle  of  Nashville  —  Marching  Through  Georgia  —  Five  Forks  —  Storming  the  Works 
at  Petersburg — Fall  of  Richmond  —  Scenes  in  Camp  —  Correspondence  Be- 
tween the  Two  Commanders  —  Appomattox  —  Joy  of  the  Soldiers  —  Death  of 
the  President — What  We  Won  and  Consequences  of  Failure  —  The  Army 
Disbanded  —  Author's  Appointment  as  Colonel  and  Brevet  Major-General 
United  States  Army 36-51 

CHAPTER    IV. 

OUR    ACQUIRED    TERRITORY. 

Colonization  —  Results  of  the  French  and  Indian  War  —  The  Louisiana  Purchase  — 
Acquisition  of  Territory  from  Mexico  —  Explorations  of  Lewis  and  Clark  — 
Fremont's  Explorations  —  Surveys  for  Trans-continental  Railways  —  Results 
of  the  War  in  its  Effect  on  the  Development  of  the  West  —  Construction  of 
the  Trans-continental  Railway  —  Rapid  Settlement  of  the  West  —  Pitts- 
burg —  Chicago  —  St.  Louis  —  Eads  —  Fort  Leavenworth  —  Emigrant  Trains  — 

Hunting   Expedition  —  The   Doniphan    Expedition 52-63 

(7) 


8  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  GEN.  NELSON  A.  MILES. 

CHAPTER  V. 

PREHISTORIC    AMERICANS. 

PAGES 

Origin  of  the  Red  Man  Unknown  —  The  "  New  "  World  — The  Tribes  That  Were  Before 
the  Indian  —  Paleolithic  Man  in  America  —  The  Glacial  Epoch  —  The  Cala- 
veras  Skull  —  The  Paleolithic  Man  of  Europe — The  Three  Kinds  of  Ancient 
Americans  —  The  Mound -Builders — The  Day  of  the  Mammoth  —  Problems 
not  yet  Solved  —  The  Mounds,  and  What  They  Indicate  —  Professor  Putman's 
Description  of  Mound -Builders  of  Ohio  Valley — Evidences  of  a  Succession 
of  Races  —  Remains  in  Wisconsin  —  Use  of  Copper — How  the  Mound-Builder 
Lived  —  His  Numbers  —  One  Singular  Remaining  Tribe — Seats  of  His 
Migration — No  Traditions  of  Coming  or  Conquest  —  The  Destiny  of  the 
Tribes  in  Modern  Times  —  Professor  Putman's  Views 64-86 

CHAPTER  VI. 

INDIAN    CHARACTER. 

Indian  Character  —  Indian  Studies  of  George  Catlin,  Parkman,  Schoolcraft  and 
Others  —  The  Original  North  American  Indian  Gentle,  Hospitable  and 
Kindly  Disposed  Toward  the  Newcomers  —  Causes  of  the  Change  in  Indian 
Character  —  English,  French,  German,  and  Spanish  Colonization  Schemes  — 
Indian  Wars  —  Benjamin  Franklin  on  the  Indian  —  Marquette's  Reception 
Beyond  the  Mississippi  —  Halleck's  Stanzas  on  Red  Jacket 87-102 

CHAPTER  VII. 

INDIAN    LAW,  RELIGION    AND    ELOQUENCE. 

Systems  of  Government  —  Domestic  Affairs  —  Religious  Beliefs  and  Observances  —  Not 
Originally  Nomads  —  Tecumseh  —  In  Council  with  General  Harrison  —  Te- 
cumseh's  Character  and  Death  —  The  Black  Hawk  War  —  Surrender  of  Black 
Hawk  —  His  Eloquence  —  Taken  to  Washington  —  Presented  to  the  Presi- 
dent—  Tour  Through  the  North  —  Return  to  Iowa  and  Meeting  with 
Keokuk  —  Death  of  Black  Hawk 103-120 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

GAME    IN    THE    GREAT    WEST. 

The  Wild  Horse  —  Methods  of  Taking  the  Wild  Horse  — The  Buffalo  — The  Chase  — 
Captain  Baldwin's  Adventures  —  The  Surround  —  The  Antelope  —  The 
Wolf  — Small  Game  — Buffalo  Bill  — Deer  — Big  Horn  — Wolf  Hunting  in 
the  Indian  Territory  —  Bear  Hunting  —  Game  of  the  Northwest.  .  .  .  121-135 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    INDIAN    DURING    THE    CIVIL    WAR 

Indian  Uprising  in  Minnesota  — Causes  Leading  Thereto  —  Governor  Ramsey's  Indian 
Council  —  Red  Iron  —  Lean  Bear  —  The  Chivington  Massacre  —  General 
Dodge's  Indian  Campaigns  — The  Bent  Boys  — Major  North  —  Discovery  of 
Gold  in  the  Black  Hills  —  The  Peace  Commission  —  General  Connor  —  Battle 
of  the  Tongue  River  —  Fetterman  Massacre 136-144 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  9 

CHAPTER    X. 

SOME    HISTORIC    CAMPAIGNS. 

PAGES 

General  Hancock's  Expedition  —  General  Carr's  Campaigns  —  Colonel  Forsyth's  Des- 
perate Fight  on  the  Arickaree  —  Roman  Nose  —  Daring  Deeds  of  Stillwell 
and  Trudeau  —  Ouster  Strikes  Black  Kettle's  Village  —  Death  of  Major 
Elliott  —  The  Plains  —  Fort  Hays  —  Hunting  —  Fort  Harker  —  Fort  Leaven- 
worth —  The  Modoc  War — Death  of  General  Canby  —  General  Sherman's 
Tribute  to  Canby 145-155 

CHAPTER    XI. 

CAMPAIGNS    IN    TEXAS. 

Causes  of  Indian  Depredations  —  Construction  of  the  Trans-continental  Railways  — 
Destruction  of  the  Buffalo  —  Disaster  to  the  Germaine  Family  —  Attack  on 
Adobe  Walls  —  Organizing  an  Expeditionary  Force  Against  the  Hostiles  — 
Unfortunate  Condition  of  Western  Kansas  —  Drouth  —  Locusts  —  March 
Under  a  Burning  Sun  Into  the  Country  of  the  Hostiles  —  Description  of  the 
Country — Gypsum  Belt  —  On  the  Indian  Trail  —  The  Indians  at  Bay  —  An 
Exciting  Engagement  —  A  Hot  Pursuit  —  Apostrophe  to  the  Red  River  —  A 
Norther  and  a  Deluge 156-171 

CHAPTER    XII. 

KIOWAS    AND    COMANCHES. 

The  Kiowas  and  Comanches  on  the  War  Path  —  Attack  on  the  Supply  Train  —  Scout 
Schmalsle  —  Train  Relieved  —  Gallant  Defense  of  Sergeant  Woodhall  and 
Party  —  Captain  Baldwin's  Fight  on  the  McClellan  Creek  —  Rescue  of  Julia 
and  Adelaide  Germaine  —  A  Midwinter  Campaign  —  Rescue  of  the  Two  Re- 
maining Germaine  Sisters  and  Submission  of  the  Last  of  the  Hostiles  — 
Origin  of  the  Carlisle  Indian  School  —  Results  of  the  Subjugation  of  the 
Southern  Tribes  —  Opinion  of  General  Sheridan  on  the  Campaign.  .  .  .  172-181 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

INDIAN    DIFFICULTIES    IN    NEW    MEXICO. 

Indian  Outbreak  at  the  Cimarron  Agency  —  On  the  War  Path — Troops  Ordered 
Against  Them  —  Peaceful  Overtures  Result  in  a  Council  —  Causes  of  the 
Outbreak  —  Condition  of  the  Indians  —  In  Council  —  The  Threatened  War 
Avoided  —  Successful  Efforts  to  Better  Condition  of  the  Indians  —  Character 
of  the  Country  —  Interesting  Ruins  —  Santa  Fe  —  Pike's  Peak  —  Helen  Hunt 
Jackson  and  Her  Last  Resting  Place 182-191 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

THE    SIOUX    WAR. 

Tribes  Composing  the  Dakota  Nations  —  Causes  Leading  to  the  War  of  1876-7  —  Sit- 
ting Bull  — He  Coquettes  With  Post  Trader  and  Trifles  with  a  Saw  Mill- 
Marauding  Expeditions  —  Expedition  of  General  Crook  —  Crook's  De- 
feat—  General  Gibbon's  Expeditions  —  General  Terry's  Expedition  —  Defeat 
and  Tragic  Death  of  Ouster,  and  Annihilation  of  his  Command.  .  .  .  192-197 


10  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  GEN.  NELSON  A.  MILES. 

CHAPTER    XV. 

THE    CUSTER    MASSACRE. 

PAGES 

A  Subject  Much  Discussed — A  Prevailing  Erroneous  Impression — Captain  Godfrey's 
Statement— The  Conclusions  of  General  Fry  —  The  Error  of  Underestimating 
the  Force  of  the  Enemy  —  The  Author's  Conclusions  as  to  the  Cause  of  the 
Disaster  —  The  Facts  Set  Forth  —  Reno  and  Ben  teen,  and  Their  Commands 
in  Ouster's  Last  Battle 198-211 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

AFTER    THE    CUSTER    MASSACRE. 

Orders  to  Reinforce  General  Terry  —  Notes  of  Preparation  —  Farewell  to  Families  and 
Friends  —  Departure  from  Fort  Leavenworth  —  Incidents  of  the  Journey  Up 
the  Missouri  —  Affairs  at  the  Mouth  of  the  Yellowstone  —  Fort  Buford  to  the 
Rosebud  —  Junction  of  Terry  and  Crook  —  The  Largest  Military  Force  Ever 
Assembled  on  the  Plains  —  Captain  Anson  Mills  at  Slim  Buttes  —  Generals 
Terry  and  Crook  Repair  to  Winter  Quarters  to  Resume  the  Campaign  in  the 
Spring  —  "Yellowstone  Kelly"  —  In  Cantonment  —  Severity  of  the  Climate 
in  Winter 212-220 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

A    WINTER    CAMPAIGN. 

Preparing  for  a  Winter  Campaign  —  Sitting  Bull  Divides  His  Forces  —  A  Narrow 
Escape  —  Supply  Train  Driven  Back  By  Indians  —  Hunting  for  Sitting 
Bull  —  He  is  Found  —  Meeting  Between  the  Lines  —  Attempted  Treachery  — 
A  Second  Meeting  — Conference  Ends  Abruptly  —  The  Battle  Opens  —  Prairie 
on  Fire  —  Indians  Defeated  and  Hotly  Pursued  —  Again  a  Flag  of  Truce  — 
Main  Body  of  Indians  Agree  to  Surrender  at  Agency  and  Give  Hostages  — 
Escape  of  Sitting  Bull  and  Portion  of  Indians  —  Scout  Boyd  —  Again  After 
Sitting  Bull  —  Captain  Baldwin  Surprises  and  Routs  Him  —  Return  to  the 
Cantonment 221-235 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

CAMPAIGN    AGAINST    CHEYENNES    AND    OGALALLAS. 

Preparations  —  The  March  —  Experiences  of  Winter  Campaigning — First  Encounter  — 
The  Battle  —  Big  Crow  —  Battle  in  a  Snowstorm  —  Retreat  of  the  En- 
emy—  Brughier  the  Scout  —  Coming  in  of  the  Indians  —  Conference  —  A 
Suicide  —  Oration  of  Little  Chief  —  Hostages  —  Sitting  Bull  Decamps  — 
First  Experiments  in  Farming 236-247 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

TIIE    LAME    DEER    EXPEDITION. 

Composition  of  the  Command  —  Beginning  the  March  —  Weather — Sharp  Indian 
Eyes  — Approaching  the  Camp  —  The  Attack  —  A  Close  Call  —  Losses  —  The 
Return  —  Mounting  the  Infantry  —  A  Circus  with  Indian  Horses  —  Following 
the  Retreating  Indians  — Winter  in  the  Northwest  — Queer  Peculiarities  of 
Indian  Feet  —  Fine  Specimens  of  the  Race — Visit  of  General  Sherman- 
Report  of  General  Sheridan.  .  .  .  248-256 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  11 

CHAPTER    XX. 

THE    NEZ    PERClS    CAMPAIGN. 

PAGES 

Character  of  the  Nez  Percys  —  The  Wallowa  Valley  —  Chief  Joseph  —  How  the  War 
Was  Begun  —  Howard  and  Gibbon's  Campaigns  —  Preparations  for  the 
Movement  —  The  Troops  Detailed  —  The  Indian  Allies  —  Bringing  a 
Steamer  —  The  Recall  —  Captain  Baldwin  —  A  Forced  March  —  Mausand  the 
Bear  — A  Change  of  Costume 259-268 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

THE    SIEGE    AND    THE    SURRENDEE. 

The  Attack  —  Surprise  of  the  Nez  Force's  —  Death  of  Hale  and  Biddle  —  Escape  of 
White  Bird  —  Laying  Siege  to  the  Indian  Camp  —  Precautions  Against  a 
Counter  Siege  —  A  Capture  and  an  Exchange  —  A  False  Alarm  —  The  Sur- 
render—  Back  to  the  Missouri  —  Meeting  Sturgis'  Command  —  Carrying  the 
Wounded  and  Burying  the  Dead  —  Appearance  of  the  Command  on  the 
March  —  Conduct  of  the  Indian  Allies  and  Their  Reward  —  Their  Endur- 
ance—  Return  to  the  Cantonment — Final  Disposition  of  the  Indians.  .  .  271-280 

CHAPTER    XXII. 
A  VISIT  TO  OUSTER'S  LAST  BATTLEFIELD. 

A  Season  of  Quiet  —  The  Crow  Indian  Camp  —  An  Indian  Field  Day  —  Colors  and 
Disguises  of  the  Indian  Warrior  and  Hunter  —  An  Indian  Sham  Battle  — 
Journey  to  the  Ouster  Battle  Ground  —  Indian  Explanation  of  the  Fight  — 
Nature  of  the  Ground  and  the  Disposition  and  Movements  of  Ouster's 
Command  —  Why  the  Battle  Was  Lost 283-293 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE    BANNOCK    CAMPAIGN. 

Changes  Wrought  by  Peace  —  Railroad  Surveys  and  Telegraph  Lines  —  Interrupted 
Journey  to  Yellowstone  Park  —  News  of  the  Bannocks  —  Beginning  of  the 
Campaign  —  The  Crows  as  Allies  —  The  Stealthy  Approach  —  Attack  and 
Victory  —  Losses  —  The  Return  —  An  Indian  Burial  —  Journey  to  Yellow- 
stone Park  Resumed  —  The  Mountain  Buffalo  —  Scenery  of  the  Route  —  A 
Wonderland  —  Fourteen  Years  Later 294-305 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

SITTING    BULL. 

His  Camp  in  Canada  —  Campaign  of  Lieutenant  Clark  —  The  Red  River  Half-Breeds  — 
Campaign  of  Captain  Huggins  —  Stealing  as  a  Fine  Art  —  Customs  in  Re- 
spect to  Stealing  Expeditions  —  How  the  Theft  is  Accomplished  —  Names  of 
Places  and  Why  They  Were  Given  — The  "Counting  Coos  "  — Exploit  of 
Sergeant  Glover  —  A  Conference  with  the  Indians  —  The  Telegraph  and 
Telephone  as  Arguments  —  The  Surrender  of  the  Chiefs  —  The  Ute  Out- 
break. 30&-319 


12  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  GEN.  NELSON  A.  MILES. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

RESULTS    OF    SIX    YEARS    OP    INDIAN    CAMPAIGNING. 

PAGES 

Redeemed  Territory  —  Its  Vast  Area  —  Zones  of  Emigration  — Indications  of  Character 
From  Natural  Surroundings — The  Trans-continental  Railways  —  Land  and 
Its  Fertility  —  Destiny  of  the  West  —  Yellowstone  Valley  —  The  Problem  of 
Irrigation  —  A  Western  "City"  —  The  Place  and  Work  of  Our  Soldiers  in 
Western  Progress 320-335 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE    INDIAN    PROBLEM. 

Conclusions  of  Personal  Experience  —  End  of  the  Indian  Troubles  Not  Yet  Near  — 
Original  Causes  of  These  — Indians  in  Motive  Like  Other  Men  —  History  of 
the  Indian  in  the  United  States  —  The  Two  Modes  of  Solving  the  Question — 
The  Author's  Plan  for  the  Benefit  of  the  Indian  and  the  Securing  of  Perma- 
nent Peace 336-351 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

JOURNEY    WESTWARD. 

Promotion  from  Colonel  to  Brigadier-General  —  Beginning  of  Journey  Westward  — 
Origin  of  Denver  —  The  Gold  Seekers  from  Georgia  —  From  Lawrence  and 
Leavenworth  —  The  Record  on  the  Rocks  —  The  Town  of  Montana  —  The 
Kansas  Commissioners  —  Arapahoe  County  —  Overland  Communication  — 
Vice  in  the  Early  Times  —  A  Historic  Tree  —  The  First  Railroad  —  The  Den- 
ver of  To-day 352-361 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

SALT    LAKE    CITY    AND    THE    MORMONS. 

Joseph  Smith  —  The  Mormons  in  New  York,  Ohio,  Missouri  and  Illinois  —  The  Exodus 
Across  the  Wilderness  —  Salt  Lake  —  Brigham  Young,  his  Character  and 
Work  — Salt  Lake  City  Now 362-370 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

ACROSS    UTAH    AND    NEVADA. 

From  Salt  Lake  to  San  Francisco  —  On  the  Pacific  —  The  Columbia  River  —  Mount 
Hood  —  Mount  Shasta  —  A  Mountain  Lake  —  City  of  Portland  —  Oregon  — 
Washington  —  Climate  of  the  Northwest  —  Willamette  Valley  —  The  For- 
ests—  Gold  —  Cattle  Raising  —  Spokane  and  Tacoma  —  Idaho 371-383 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

A    CHAPTER    OUT    OF    EARLY    HISTORY. 

Ideas  of  American  Statesmen  Fifty  Years  Ago  —  Discovery  of  the  Columbia  —  Claims 
of  the  United  States  to  the  Northwest  Territory  —  The  Early  Missions  — 
Dr.  Whitman  and  Mr.  Spalding  — The  First  Overland  Journey  — The  Old 
Wagon  —  General  Lovejoy  —  Result  in  Washington  of  the  Teaching  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  —  The  Pending  Treaty  —  The  Return  Journey  of 
Whitman  and  Lovejoy  —  A  Change  of  View  in  Washington — The  Lesson  of 
the  Old  Wagon— Work  and  Death  of  Dr.  Whitman 384-396 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 


13 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

DEPARTMENT    OF    THE    COLUMBIA. 

The  Indian  Sign  Language — The  "Chinook"  Language  —  Vancouver  Barracks  — 
Troops  in  the  Department  —  Work  Accomplished  —  Unexplored  Regions — 
Expedition  of  Lieutenant  Symons  —  Of  Lieutenant  Pierce  —  Other  Sur- 
veys— Visit  of  General  Sherman  —  Effect  of  Railroad  Building  —  New  Coast 
Batteries  —  Reservations,  and  Number  of  Indians 


397-403 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

CHIEF    MOSES    AND    HIS    TRIBE. 

The  Beginning  of  Trouble — Chief  Moses,  and  the  Moses  Reservation — Causes  of 
Dissatisfaction  —  Action  of  Colonel  Merriam  —  Investigation  by  Captain 
Baldwin  —  Meeting  and  Council  at  Vancouver  —  A  New  Treaty  and  a  New 
Reservation  —  The  Results  —  Looploop's  Statement  of  the  Situation  —  Re- 
view' of  the  Nez  Perc6  Situation  on  Their  Final  Return  From  the  Indian 
Territory 404-415 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

OUR    ALASKAN    POSSESSIONS. 

Discovery  of  Alaska  by  Behring — The  Fur  Hunters  —  The  Russian  Companies  and 
Their  Successor  —  Sale  of  the  Country  to  the  United  States  —  The  Trans- 
fer—  Vast  Size  of  Alaska  —  Climate  —  Mountains — Mount  St.  Elias  — 
Glaciers  —  Muir  Glacier — Expedition  of  Lieutenant  Schwatka  —  Character 
of  the  Natives  —  Their  Boats  —  Expedition  of  Lieutenant  Abercrombie  — 
The  Copper  River  Country  —  Seals  and  Their  Rookeries  —  Salmon  and  the 
Canning  Industry  —  British  Strength  in  the  Northwest  Territory. 


416-431 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 


FROM    INDIAN    TERRITORY    TO    ARIZONA. 

Situation  of  the  Indian  Territory  in  1885  —  The  Utes  in  New  Mexico  and  Colorado — 
Visit  to  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  —  Beginnings  of  New  Apache  Troubles 
in  Arizona  —  Early  Arizona,  and  Earliest  Explorations  —  Ancient  Ruins  — 


Character  of  the  Country  —  Mines  —  Population. 


432-444 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

THE.  APACHE    AND    THE    SOLDIER. 

General  Crook  and  His  Experiences  —  Character  of  these  Indians  —  Illustrative  In- 
stances—  A  Wilderness  Cemetery  —  Mountain  Fastnesses  of  Arizona  — 
Resources  of  the  Apache  in  War  —  A  Former  Campaign 445-449 


14  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  GEN.  NELSON  A.  MILES: 

CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

A    CAMPAIGN'  AGAINST    APACHES. 

(CAPTAIN  MAUS'  NARRATIVE.) 

PAGES 

Beginning  of  the  Campaign  of  1885  —  Crossing  Into  Mexico  —  Methods  of  the  Indian 
Scouts  —  Little  Mexican  Towns  and  Their  People  —  Mescal,  and  Its  Use  by 
Indians  —  First  News  of  the  Hostiles  —  Beginning  of  a  Mountain  March  on 
Foot  —  Abandoned  Camps  —  The  Devil's  Backbone  —  Finding  the  Hos- 
tiles —  The  Attack  —  A  Battle  with  Mexican  Troops  That  was  Fought  by 
Mistake  —  Captain  Crawford  Mortally  Wounded  —  Later  Action  of  the  Mexi- 
cans —  The  Homeward  March  —  Messenger  from  Geronimo  —  A  Confer- 
ence—  An  Indian  Trick  —  Death  of  Captain  Crawford  —  Burial  at  Nacori, 
Mexico  —  Unfriendly  Disposition  of  the  Mexicans  —  Arrival  in  United  States 
Territory  —  Return  for  the  Hostiles  —  The  Signal  —  The  Escape  and  Pur- 
suit—Results of  the  Expedition 450-479 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

THE    ARIZONA    CAMPAIGN.       I. 

Problem  Presented  by  the  Situation  —  Opinions  of  Citizens  —  The  Obstacles  to  Success 
Presented  by  the  Natural  Conditions  —  Aid  From  the  Signal  Corps  at  Wash- 
ington—  The  Heliostat  —  Arrangement  of  Stations  —  Number  of  Messages 
Sent — Districts  of  Observation  —  Captain  Lawton  —  Captain  Wood  —  Other 
Officers  of  the  Command  —  Breaking  Out  of  the  Hostiles  —  Details  of  the 
Campaign  Against  the  Apaches 480-493 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

THE    ARIZONA    CAMPAIGN.       II. 

The  Question  of  Removing  the  Indians  From  Arizona  —  Consultations  with  Agents  — 
Captain  Pierce  —  Colonel  Wade  —  Discharge  of  the  Apache  Scouts  —  Visit 
to  Fort  Apache  —  The  Appearance  of  the  Agency  Indians  —  "Tiswin"  — 
Sending  a  Delegation  to  Washington  —  The  Result  —  Correspondence  with 
War  Department  —  Fort  Marion  Decided  Upon  as  Place  of  Confinement  — 
Preparations  at  Fort  Apache  —  Using  the  Telegraph  Between  Wilcox  and 
Fort  Apache  — "A  Chip  of  the  Old  Block." 494-505 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

INCIDENTS    OF    THE    APACHE    CAMPAIGN. 

The  Story  of  the  Wounded  Apache  —  Captain  Wood's  Story  —  Character  of  Apache 
Raids — The  Case  of  the  Peek  Family  —  Indian  Ideas  About  Insane  Persons  — 
Fight  Between  Apaches  and  Mexicans,  and  Some  of  its  Results  —  Meeting  the 
Mexican  Troops  —  Finding  the  Murdered  Mexicans  —  Finding  Dead  Bodies  on 
the  March  —  Indian  Manner  of  Riding  Horses  to  Death  —  The  Old  Mines  of 
Mexico  —  How  the  Soldiers  Marched,  Ate  and  Slept  —  Surprising  an  Indian 
Camp  —  Preliminaries  of  Surrender  at  Fronteras  —  Geronimo  Comes  In  — 
Agreement  to  Surrender  —  Meeting  with  the  Mexican  Soldiers  —  Geronimo's 
Friendly  Offer  to  Assist  —  Mexican  Nervousness  —  Losing  a  Command  —  A 
New  Rifle  —  A  Stampede  —  Mexican  Towns  —  Extreme  Hardship  of  the 
Campaign  —  The  Proportion  of  Survivors  —  Geronimo's  Philosophy  of  Sur- 
render   506-518 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  15 

CHAPTER  XL. 

END    OF    THE    APACHE    WAR. 

PAGES 

Preliminaries  of  Surrender  —  An  Indian  Hostage  —  Going  in  Person  to  Meet  the 
Indians  —  Courage  of  Officers  —  Lieutenant  Rucker,  and  "Rucker's 
Caflon" — Arrival  at  Skeleton  Canon — Visit  by  Geronimo  —  A  Question 
of  Terms  —  Geronimo  and  the  Heliostat  —  Telling  the  Chief  of  the  Destiny 
of  His  Tribe  —  How  Natchez  was  Brought  in  —  Character  and  Dress  of  Ger- 
onimo's  Band  —  How  Crimes  Were  Committed  —  Difficulties  of  the  Civil 
Power  in  Dealing  with  Renegade  Indians  —  The  Effect  of  the  Campaign 
Upon  the  Officers  —  Arrangements  at  Fort  Bowie  —  Meeting  of  Officers  and 
Their  Families  —  Departure  of  the  Indians  for  Florida  —  "Auld  Lang 
Syne" — Feeling  of  the  Citizens  of  Arizona  Toward  the  Apaches  —  Effect  of 
Removal  Upon  Values  in  the  Territory  —  Colonel  Wade's  Task  in  Remov- 
ing the  Indians  From  Fort  Apache  —  Remarkable  Escape  and  Return  of  a 
Single  Indian  —  Ideas  and  Emotions  of  the  Indians  While  on  the  Train  — 
The  Remaining  Small  Band  of  Hostiles,  and  Their  Final  Capture  —  At- 
tempted Escape  of  Mangus  from  a  Train  —  Tribute  to  the  Officers  Engaged 
in  the  Campaign 519-532 

CHAPTER    XLI. 

HOW    THE    REGULARS    ARE    TRAINED. 

Reduced  Expenses  on  the  Cessation  of  Indian  Hostilities  —  The  Nogales  Disturbance  — 
Troubles  at  San  Carlos  Reservation  —  The  Emergencies  of  Present  Military 
Service  —  Why   Indians  Are   Difficult  to  Capture  —  Field   Service  and   Its 
Value  — The  Field  Maneuvers  of  1887— Orders  for  the  Same— Their  Suc- 
cess, Value  and  Results.     .          533-544 

CHAPTER    XLII. 

THE    ARID    REGION    AND    IRRIGATION. 

The  Conditions  of  the  Arid  Region — A  Rich  Soil,  but  a  Lack  of  Rainfall  —  What  the 
Arid  Belt  Includes  —  Area,  and  Proportion  Irrigated  —  The  Sub-Humid 
Region  —  The  Standard  of  Humidity  —  Science  and  Personal  Experience  — 
Idea  of  Farming  by  Irrigation  New  to  the  Saxon  —  The  Instance  of  Cali- 
fornia—  Irrigation  in  History  —  Universal  Efficiency  of  the  System  —  The 
Measures  Taken  by  the  Government  —  The  Action  of  States  —  Cost — Reasons 
for  Further  Government  Action 545-557 

CHAPTER    XLIII. 

TRANSPORTATION. 

The  Unbridged  Space  Between  the  East  and  the  West — Early  Railroads  —  Early 
Railroads  of  the  United  States  —  Change  in  Rates  of  Speed  —  Prophecy  of 
Simon  Cameron  —  Vast  and  Rapid  Increase  of  Mileage  —  The  Sleeping  Car  — 
The  Old  Passenger  Car  —  Through  Tickets  and  Transfers  —  The  Origin  of  the 
Idea  of  a  Trans-continental  Line  —  The  Union  and  Central  Pacific  Lines  — 
The  Northern  Pacific  —  The  Thirty-fifth  Parallel  Route  —  The  Southern 
Pacific  —  Land  Grants  to  the  Pacific  Lines — Sum  of  Land  Grants  to  All 
Lines — Gross  Income  of  the  Railroads  of  the  United  States. 558-568 


16 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  GEN.  NELSON  A.  MILLS. 


CHAPTER    XLIV. 

CALIFORNIA. 

Size  of  California — The  Name  "California ' ' —  Discovery  —  The  Spaniards  —  Drake  —  The 
Coming  of  the  Franciscans  —  The  Missions  —  Wealth  of  the  Same  —  The 
Indians  and  Their  Condition  —  Customs  of  the  Old  Time  —  First  Immigrants 
from  the  States  —  Commodore  Sloat  and  General  Fremont  —  First  Hoisting 
of  the  American  Flag — Discovery  of  Gold  —  Sutler  and  Marshall  —  Rapid 
Increase  of  Population  —  The  Character  of  the  Pioneers  —  Admittance  as 
a  State  —  Geography  of  California  —  The  Two  Natural  Divisions  of  the 
State  —  California  Wonders  —  Yosemite,  Little  Yosemite,  King's  River 
Canon,  etc. — The  Seasons  —  Vast  Product  of  the  State  in  Fruits  and  Ce- 
reals —  Manufactures  —  Educational  Institutions  —  Los  Angeles  —  Santa 
Barbara  — San  Francisco  —  The  Vigilance  Committee — The  Harbor.  .  . 


571-590 


v 


CHAPTER    I. 


IN  NEW  ENGLAND  FIFTY  YEARS  AGO. 

PURPOSE  OP  THIS  BOOK  —  THE  SENTIMENT  OP  COUNTRY  UNIVERSAL — A  DEMOCRACY  NATURAL  IN 
AMERICA  —  THE  CHANGE  FROM   PRIMITIVE   LIPE    TO   THE    PRESENT,  AND  THE  MEN  WHO 
MADE  IT  —  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  COLONISTS  —  INFLUENCE   OP  CLIMATE  —  MAS- 
SACHUSETTS —  THE  INFLUENCE  OP  NEW  ENGLAND  IDEAS  IN  OUR  HISTORY 
—  THE   INDIAN   IN  NEW  ENGLAND  —  LIFE  THERE   FIFTY   YEARS 
AGO  —  THE  AUTHOR'S  YOUTH  AND  ANCESTRY  —  STORIES 
AND  THEIR  EFFECT  UPON  INCLINATION  —  BEFORE 
THE  WAR  —  EARLIEST  MILITARY  TRAINING. 

T  is  my  purpose  in  this  volume  to  write  concerning  a  subject  that 
is  nearest  the  heart  of  every  true  American — Our  Country, 
and  its  eventful  changes  and  transformations  as  I  have  observed 
them  during  the  brief  period  of  my  own  life. 

Doubtless  the  most  refined  and  enlightened  of  the  human 
race  best  comprehend  and  appreciate  the  sentiment  expressed  by 
the  words  "  my  Country."  But  we  know  that  he  whom  we  are 
accustomed  to  consider  the  most  stoical  savage  also  cherishes  the 
same  thought  and  feeling  to  an  intense  degree.  The  warrior  standing 
amid  the  primeval  forest,  or  on  the  crest  of  some  butte  towering  above 
the  prairie,  or  beneath  the  shadow  of  some  mountain,  also  has  this  sublime 
inspiration.  It  has  been  said  that  patriotism  is  a  narrow  sentiment,  and 
that  one's  love  for  mankind  ought  not  to  be  bounded  by  the  ocean's 
tides,  the  course  of  rivers  or  the  trend  of  mountain  chains.  And  yet  we 
cannot  but  feel  a  deep  and  special  interest,  a  just  pride,  in  contemplating 
our  own  country.  Its  remarkable  history,  its  character,  unlike  that  of 
any  other,  its  institutions  and  system  of  government,  its  prosperity,  its 
magnitude  and  grandeur,  are  all  without  precedent  or  rival.  In  fact 
there  seems  to  be  something  in  the  very  atmosphere  of  this  country  that 
inspires  independence,  liberality  and  freedom  of  thought  and  action. 
These  qualities  are  not  characteristic  of  those  only  who  have  taken 
possession  of  this  country,  but  also  of  its  original  occupants.  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  remark  later  in  these  pages,  that  the  customs  and 
governments  of  the  aborigines  were  purely  democratic.  The  voice, 

M— 2  (17) 


18  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

the  opinions,  the  wishes,  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  majority  and  minor- 
ity of  that  race  were  also  by  them  duly  ascertained  and  always  respected. 

Writing  of  the  change  from  primitive  life  and  conditions  to  modern 
civilization  as  I  have  observed  it,  I  shall  have  occasion  to  mention  the 
faithful  soldier,  the  adventurous  explorer,  the  hardy  pioneer,  the  mission- 
ary and  teacher,  the  hunter,  trapper  and  miner,  and  last,  but  not  least, 
the  home-builders  of  the  West.  I  shall  also  endeavor  to  describe  some  of 
the  chief  distinguishing  characteristics  of  our  people  as  they  have  devel- 
oped in  that  vast  new  field,  noting  the  influence  of  the  cavalier  of  the  South, 
of  the  descendants  of  the  Huguenot,  of  the  sturdy  and  sagacious  Knicker- 
bocker, and  of  the  adventurous  and  enterprising  Puritan  of  New  England. 
I  may  be  pardoned  for  referring  first  to  the  last-named  section,  the  char- 
acter of  its  people,  its  society,  and  my  own  New  England  home. 

The  earliest  colonists  of  New  England  possessed  in  an  extraordinary 
degree  moral,  mental  and  physical  strength  and  energy.  This  was  in 
accordance  with  nature's  laws,  for  only  those  possessed  of  such  qualities 
could  have  had  the  courage  to  venture  upon  unknown  seas  in  search  of 
liberty  upon  unexplored  shores,  and  the  fortitude  to  endure  the  rigors  of 
an  exposed,  desperate  and  unaccustomed  life.  Here  these  sturdy  qualities 
were  expanded  and  strengthened  because  they  were  surrounded  in  their 
every-day  life  by  the  hardest  conditions.  Every  faculty  was  on  the  alert, 
and  every  sinew  of  the  body  was  called  into  constant  and  intense  en- 
deavor to  sustain  life  and  defend  their  infant  settlements.  They  dwelt 
in  an  atmosphere  of  continual  trial,  danger  and  warfare  for  nearly  two 
hundred  years,  no  generation  during  that  time  escaping  an  incursion  of 
savages  to  their  doors  or  a  general  war. 

Possibly  the  climate  may  have  had  somewhat  to  do  with  giving  tone 
and  vigor  to  the  heart  and  brain  of  the  people  of  New  England.  Four 
very  sharply-defined  seasons  follow  one  after  another  in  that  region, 
each  with  vicissitudes  and  charms  peculiarly  its  own,  constantly  making 
demands  upon  the  physical  system,  and  the  thought  and  ingenuity  of  its 
inhabitants.  Before  the  heart  of  man  is  fully  sated  with  spring's 
joys  and  beauties,  summer  comes  with  nature's  growing  gifts.  Then 
follow  the  beautiful  autumn  and  "Indian  Summer"  with  their  ripe 
fruit  and  golden  harvest.  At  last  winter  brings  its  toils  and  pleasures  of 
a  sturdier  cast,  more  invigorating  but  no  less  pleasing,  that  round  up  in 
full  measure  New  England's  well-defined  seasons. 

These  observations  concerning  the  people  and  climate  of  New  Eng- 
land are  applicable  to  the  State  of  Massachusetts  in  an  especial  degree. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


19 


Its  founders  were  the  pioneers  in  much  that  is  most  admirable  in  the 
entire  civilization  of  this  republic.  The  history  of  the  Massachusetts 
colonies  and  of  the  commonwealth  that  succeeded  them  is  brilliant  with 
events  that  mark  the  progress  of  the  human  race,  bright  in  the  develop- 
ment of  enlightened  thought  and  the  uplifting  of  man  into  higher  and 
grander  civilization. 

The  little  band  which  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  first  colony  may  be 
likened  to  a  germ  which,  escaping  from  the  oppression  of  the  old  world, 
burst  into  blossom  and  bore  fruit  in  the  changed  atmosphere  of  the  new. 


Severing    themselves     from 
of  their   native    land,   the 
was  at  that   time  a   long 
prompted  by  the  loftiest 
ambition.    Theirs  was  not 
they  were  seeking  a  haven 
tellectual    op- 
forests   and 
chusetts  they 
tions  upon 
reared    not 
wealth  alone 
which  came 
after  anoth- 
t  h  e   Ameri- 
England  ideas 
thought   have 
with  the  advancing 
are  thoroughly  incor- 
tions  of  the  great  empire  of 
Hostilities  with   a  savage 


MILES  STANDISH 


the     ties    and     associations 
Pilgrims   undertook  what 
and   perilous  voyage, 
purposes  and  the  noblest 
the   march   of   conquest ; 
of  rest  from  moral  and  in- 
pression.     Here,  amid  the 
fields     of    Massa- 
laid  the  founda- 
which  have  been 
that    common- 
but    all    those 
into  being,   one 
er,  to  make  up 
can  Union.  New 
and   modes  of 
gone  westward 
wave  of  civilization,  and 
porated  with  the  institu- 
the  West. 

foe  began  in  New  England 
landed.    Miles  Standish, 


very  soon  after  the  colonists 
who  had  been  a  soldier  in  the  British  army,  was  the  first  military  leader. 
His  exploits  are  too  well  known  to  require  rehearsal  here.  In  the 
French  and  Indian  wars  Massachusetts  contributed  liberally  in  men  and 
money,  and  when  the  struggle  for  national  independence  began  it  had 
among  its  citizens  large  numbers  of  experienced  soldiers.  Massachusetts 
was  the  storm-center  of  that  first  great  struggle  for  national  self-gov- 
ernment. Here  was  fired  "  the  shot  heard  round  the  world,"  and  here 
were  fought  the  first  important  battles  of  that  war. 


20 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


Life  in  New  England  fifty  years  ago  was  entirely  different  from  what 
it  is  at  present.  It  was  then  more  complete  and  independent.  A  well- 
stocked  farm  produced  most  that  was  required  for  the  well-being  of  a 
family.  There  was  freedom  from  great  anxiety.  The  forests  and  fields 
produced  an  abundance  of  the  requirements  of  life,  while  now  the  country 
has  been  denuded  of  much  of  its  splendid  forest,  and  has  become  a  vast 
succession  of  manufacturing  towns  and  cities.  I  recall  it  as  it  was  in 

my  childhood,  and  naturally  cherish  its  mem- 
ories, privileges,  pleasures  and  influences.     My 
happiest    and    most   lasting    impressions   are 
associated    with   that   time.      To   my    mind, 
looking     back    through     the    long    vista     of 
eventful  years,  my  home  was  an   ideal  one 
for    the   passing    of    an   innocent  and  happy 
_,      childhood.      Certain   it  is  that  its   sur- 
roundings and  influence  were  all  well 
suited  to  the  growth  of  both  the  phys- 
ical  strength  and  mental   qualities 
requisite  to  the  responsibilities  and 
duties    of   after    life.     Through   pa- 
rental  guidance   I  had,  even  before 
my     childhood    days    were    passed, 
learned   the    usual    round    of    rural 
accomplishments.      From  my   ear- 
it      liest  recollection  I   have  felt  per- 
fectly at  home    on   horseback.     I 
first  rode  in  front  of  my  father,  with 
his  arms  about  nie :  afterward  behind 


him,  holding  on  with  my  arms ;  later  alone, 
clinging  to  the  mane.     I  was  given  a  horse, 
DANIEL  MILES.  and  rode  and  managed  him,  at  the   age 

of  six.  I  became  at  an  early  age  passion- 
ately fond  of  coasting,  skating,  ball-playing,  swimming,  hunting  and  trap- 
ping, and  many  a  day  was  delightfully  spent  in  exploring  the  surrounding 
country,  with  a  favorite  dog  as  my  only  companion. 

These  physical  and  mental  advantages  were  not  the  only  ones  for 
which  I  feel  it  a  very  pleasant  duty  to  render  thanks  to  my  honored  parents. 
Simplicity  of  life,  purity  of  thought  and  action,  and  high  moral  stand- 
ards were  as  characteristic  of  them  as  of  their  ancestors  through  many 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


21 


generations.  My  father,  Daniel  Miles,  excelled  in  strength,  resolution, 
boldness  and  the  highest  sense  of  honor.  To  the  example  of  his  sterling 
integrity,  spotless  character  and  loyalty  to  country,  I  owe  whatever  of 
aptitude  I  have  possessed  in  meeting  the  stern  realities  of  a  somewhat 
tumultuous  life  in  an  exacting  profession.  My  father's  high  qualities 
had  been  transmitted 
through  five  generations 
from  Rev.  John  Myles,  a 
Welsh  clergyman,  who  had 
been  not  only  a  soldier  of 
the  Cross,  but  also  a  soldier 
of  approved  valor  and  con- 
duct in  the  Indian  wars. 
For  many  years  he  carried 
on  a  school  "  for  the  teach- 
ing of  grammar  and  arith- 
metic, and  the  tongues  of 
Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew, 
also  how  to  read  English 
and  to  write." 

This  ancestor's  residence 
was  strongly  built,  and  when 
King  Philip's  War  broke  out 
in  1675  it  was  fortified  and 
became  known  as  "Myles' 
Garrison."  There  the  colo- 
nial forces  gathered  at  the 
first  outbreak  of  Indian  hos- 
tilities, and  the  pastor  be- 
c  a m e  foremost  in  the 
defense  of  the  settlement, 
and  was  chosen  captain. 
Having  done  valiant  service 
in  the  war,  he,  at  its  close, 
resumed  the  duties  of  a  coun- 
try clergyman.  His  son  Samuel  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1684,  and 
went  to  England  soon  after,  where  he  took  orders  in  the  English  church. 
Returning  to  Boston  he  became  rector  of  King's  Chapel  in  1689,  continuing 
in  this  position  for  twenty-nine  years.  Oxford  University  conferred  the 


CAPITOL  BUILDING,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


22  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

degree  of  Master  of  Arts  upon  him  in  1693.  My  ancestor  moved  from 
Massachusetts  to  Pomfret,  Connecticut.  Thence  they  made  a  settlement 
at  what  is  now  the  town  of  Petersham  in  central  Massachusetts,  when 
that  was  the  extreme  frontier.  This  settlement  was  once  abandoned 
because  of  the  depredations  of  the  Indians. 

My  paternal  grandfather.  Joab,  and  great-grandfather,  Daniel,  were 
both  soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  and  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Lexington, 
Bennington,  and  many  others  of  the  principal  engagements,  passing 
the  historic  winter  of  1777-78  at  Valley  Forge,  and  were  present  at  the 
surrender  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown.  After  the  war  my  great-grand- 
father's patriotic  zeal  caused  him  to  convert  his  entire  property  into  con- 
tinental money,  and  he  was  eventually  impoverished  thereby  through  the 
repudiation  by  the  government  of  this  currency,  which  was  a  loss  of  what 
would  have  amounted  by  this  time,  with  accumulated  interest,  to  several 
millions  of  dollars.  I  have  often  heard  my  father  tell  of  the  experiences 
of  his  father  and  grandfather,  as  related  above,  of  their  sudden  departure 
for  the  field,  and  of  the  hardships  and  dangers  encountered  by  them  and 
their  comrades. 

My  father,  Daniel  Miles,  was  born  at  Petersham,  but  moved  in  early 
manhood  to  Westminster,  in  the  same  county  (Worcester)  in  the  State 
of  Massachusetts,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  and  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness. Here  I  was  born,  and  here  my  youthful  companions  and  myself 
were  wont  to  illustrate  in  play  the  doings  of  our  ancestors.  Some  of  the 
boys  were  necessarily  assigned  to  play  the  part  of  the  odious  Britisher, 
the  bloodthirsty  Indian  or  the  unfortunate  Mexican,  and  these  were  in- 
variably defeated  in  the  desperate  encounter  and  put  to  ignominious  rout. 

My  mother,  Mary  Curtis,  possessed  traits  of  character  similar  to  those  of 
my  father  and  excelled  in  those  which  most  adorn  womanhood.  It  is  not 
possible  to  adequately  express  my  sense  of  obligation  for  her  devotion.  She 
was  a  true  Christian;  never  was  one  more  earnestly  prayed  for  during 
childhood  and  manhood,  during  peace  and  war  than  myself.  It  was  her 
loftiest  ambition  to  guide  her  children  by  good  example,  pure  thought, 
upright  and  praiseworthy  life  to  honorable  and  noble  purpose.  To  her  un- 
selfish devotion,  her  gentle  and  loving  admonitions  am  I  greatly  indebted 
for  whatever  there  may  be  in  me  that  is  commendable. 

My  mother  was  a  direct  descendant  of  William  Curtis  who  arrived  in 
Boston  on  the  ship  "Lyon,"  September  16,  1632. 

The  rural  home  to  which  I  have  referred  was  situated  near  Wachu- 
sett  Mountain,  about  fifty  miles  from  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  the 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  23 

town  of  Westminster,  Worcester  County.  The  scenery  was  pictur- 
esque, and  the  climate  exhilarating.  Hill,  valley,  forest,  stream  and 
the  cultivated  farm  variegated  the  landscape.  Equally  removed  from  pov- 
erty and  wealth,  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  of  contentment  and  affec- 
tion, the  early  years  of  my  life  were  passed.  I  attended  the  district  school, 
participating  in  the  sports  and  pastimes  customary  in  those  days  among 
boys  of  the  rural  districts.  I  also  took  my  full  share  in  the  occupations 
incident  to  life  on  a  New  England  farm.  In  due  time  I  passed  from  the 
district  school,  and  entered  upon  a  course  in  the  academy  taught  by  Mr. 
John  R.  Gait,  then  an  eminent  educator. 

Such  was  the  simple  course  of  my  boyhood.  But  this  brief  resume  of 
my  early  life  would  not  be  complete  did  I  fail  to  mention  one  other  fea- 
ture of  those  days,  which,  however  unimportant  in  itself,  had  a  powerful 
influence  in  shaping  the  course  of  my  future  life.  I  refer  to  the  tales 
told  around  the  evening  fireside.  The  visits  from  and  to  relatives  and 
friends  were  frequent,  and  the  traditionary  lore  discussed  on  such  occa- 
sions was  to  me  of  exhaustless  and  absorbing  interest.  There  I  first 
learned  that  my  ancestors  had  been  conspicuous  always  in  their  day  and 
generation  for  good  example  and  lofty  patriotism.  Thus  I  naturally  im- 
bibed, if  indeed  the  tendency  was  not  an  inherited  one,  a  decided  inclina- 
tion toward  the  military  profession.  However,  as  there  was  no  oppor- 
tunity then  apparent  for  me  to  follow  this  course  of  life,  when  I  was 
sixteen  years  of  age  I  concluded  to  engage  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and 
thereby  acquire  a  business  education.  This  took  me  to  the  city  of  Bos- 
ton, and  to  an  occupation  which  was  not  wholly  congenial  to  my  taste, 
or  consonant  with  my  ambition,  yet  I  hoped  that  in  the  line  I  had 
adopted  I  might  at  least  follow  in  the  footsteps,  if  I  could  not  equal  in 
accomplishment  the  noble  examples,  of  such  men  as  had  adorned  the  his- 
tory of  the  old  Bay  State ;  and  I  further  cherished  the  hope  that,  should 
an  occasion  occur,  I  would  be  enabled  to  follow  the  example  of  my 
ancestors  in  serving  my  country,  though  I  little  dreamed  that  such  a  de- 
mand would  so  soon  be  made  upon  the  strong  and  patriotic  young  men 
of  my  own  time. 

Soon  the  signs  of  the  time  became  ominous.  During  the  five  years 
I  lived  in  Boston  the  country  was  passing  through  the  most  heated  and 
acrimonious  controversy  in  our  national  history.  The  public  temper 
"finally  became  heated  to  a  degree  hardly  conceivable  to  the  younger  gen- 
eration of  to-day.  What  was  known  as  the  Kansas  Border  War,  and  a 
little  later  the  ill-advised  attempt  of  John  Brown  at  Harper's  Ferry,  were 


24  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

symptoms  of-  the  feverish  condition  of  the  body  politic.  A  political  tor- 
nado was  approaching.  It  began  to  be  frequently  said  that  war  was  inevit- 
able, and  that  such  must  be  the  outcome  of  the  political  antagonism  of 
the  time.  The  failure  of  the  various  efforts  made  by  the  most  earnest  and 
patriotic  men  to  compromise  and  peacefully  arbitrate  the  conflicting  inter- 
ests, made  it  more  apparent  to  the  young  men  of  that  day  that  in  the 
near  future  their  personal  services  must  be  required  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  institutions  and  principles  of  government  transmitted  to 
them  by  their  fathers. 

For  some  time  before  the  beginning  of  the  war  I  gave  much  thought 
to  military  matters,  and  made  an  effort,  with  such  advantages  as  I  could 
procure,  to  qualify  myself  in  the  military  art  so  that  when  the  day  of 
actual  conflict  came  I  might  be  as  well  prepared  as  possible  for  rendering 
my  country  the  best  possible  service.  To  that  end  I  devoted  as  much  time 
as  I  could  spare  from  other  duties  to  a  study  of  the  political  questions  then 
at  issue,  and  I  could  not  but  observe  the  preparations  that  were  being  os- 
tentatiously made  in  the  South  to  ensure  the  accomplishment  of  their 
purposes  by  a  resort  to  arms  if  need  should  arise.  At  the  same  time 
I  turned  my  attention  to  the  study  of  books  relating  to  military  history, 
strategy,  tactics,  and  the  army  regulations. 

Together  with  a  few  young  men  in  Boston  I  placed  myself  under  the 
tutelage  of  an  old  French  colonel  named  Salignac,  and  all  the  time  I 
could  find  available  was  devoted  to  the  study  and  practice  of  military 
drills,  the  duties  of  officers,  discipline,  and  the  methods  of  command  and 
administration.  This  French  officer  was  a  most  thorough  soldier  in  all 
his  methods  and  action,  and  the  corps  of  young  men  under  his  instruction 
finally  grew  from  a  single  small  company  until  it  numbered  first  and  last, 
over  three  thousand  men.  By  him  were  schooled  a  very  large  number  of 
the  men  who  afterwards  became  officers  of  Massachusetts  regiments. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


25 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE  GREAT  CIVIL  WAR. 

THE   QUESTIONS   AT  ISSUE  —  ELECTION  OP  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  —  GENERAL  SCOTT  — OBSERVATIONS 

RELATING  TO  THE  WAR  — RAISING  A   COMPANY  FOR  THE  UNION  SERVICE  —  ELECTED 

AND   COMMISSIONED   CAPTAIN  —  TAKES   THE  FIELD   AS   FIRST  LIEUTENANT  — 

DETAILED  TO  STAFF  DUTY— VARIOUS  PROMOTIONS— THE  SECOND  ARMY 

CORPS  —  THE  GRAND  RECORD  OF  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC. 

HE  great  Civil  War,  lasting  for  four  long  years,  drenched  the 
soil  with  the  best  blood  of  our  people.    It  shadowed  nearly 
every  household  of  our  land  with  the  drapery  of  mourning. 
The  passions  and  prejudices  engendered  by  the  protracted 
and  bitter  struggle  have,  with  the  lapse  of  time,  in  a  large 
measure  subsided,  and  as  the  years  roll  on  are  surely  though 
gradually  passing  away  from  the  hearts  of  men.     The  antag- 
onistic ideas  which  contended  so  strenuously  for  the  mastery, 
and  from  which  were  kindled  the  flames  of  conflict,  are  now 
better  understood,  are  more  clearly  harmonized  by  a  mutual  yielding  of 
extreme  views,  and  their  influence  has  less  effect  than  ever  before  upon 
the  general  welfare  of  the  whole  people. 

The  character  of  that  war  was  so  extraordinary,  the  issue  at  stake  so 
important  and  the  results,  while  far-reaching  and  beneficent  to  all  man- 
kind, affected  so  directly  and  especially  the  destiny  of  our  great  undevel- 
oped West,  that  a  brief  review  of  those  issues  and  results  would  seem 
appropriate  before  proceeding  to  the  chief  topics  of  this  volume. 

The  first  and  great  question  at  issue '  between  the  contending  parties 
was  whether  the  republic  could  be  dissolved  by  the  action  of  one  State  or 
of  a  number  of  States,  or  whether  it  had  the  capacity  to  endure;  whether, 
in  fact,  it  had  the  inherent  right  and  power  of  self-preservation.  There 
was  no  question  as  to  the  power  of  the  Federal  Government  when  wielded 
against  foreign  aggression,  but  both  its  legal  right  and  its  actual  power  to 
quell  internal  dissension  and  hostility — especially  when  such  hostility  was 
assumed  and  supported  by  a  State  or  a  confederation  of  States — were  still 
to  be  established.  This  question  had  from  time  to  time  since  the  forma- 
tion of  our  government  absorbed  the  serious  attention  of  the  people,  and 


26  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

had  engaged  the  best  thought  of  our  most  eminent  statesmen.  Closely 
connected  with  this  question  in  our  political  history  was  the  long  con- 
tention over  the  existence  or  extension  of  the  institution  of  human 
slavery. 

No  political  party  had  proclaimed  any  intention  of  interfering  with  the 
labor  system  of  any  State.  The  important  question  was  as  to  the  future 
status  of  labor  in  our  great  Western  domain,  then  unsettled  and  unorgan- 
ized ;  and  this  was  the  question  which  aroused  the  fiercest  political  contro- 
versy and  the  bitterest  personal  animosity. 

Acrimonious  and  heated  discussions  in  the  press  and  in  the  halls  of 
legislation,  had  inflamed  the  passions  and  prejudices  of  the  people  until  a 
peaceable  solution  of  the  questions  at  issue  finally  became  impossible. 
The  storm  clouds  which  had  been  gathering  for  years  at  last  burst  forth 
in  devastating  fury  in  1861.  The  election  to  the  presidency  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  in  1860,  upon  a  platform  opposed  to  the  further  extension  of  slav- 
ery, was  the  immediate  occasion  or  excuse  for  the  war.  Earnest  efforts  for 
the  preservation  of  peace  and  unity  were  made  by  patriotic  men,  both 
North  and  South,  but  without  avail.  Reason,  argument,  fraternal  ties, 
the  memories  of  a  common  and  glorious  history,  were  all  swept  aside.  A 
few  may  have  been  actuated  by  political  and  military  ambition,  and  other 
selfish  motives,  but  it  is  certain  that  the  masses  of  our  people  on  both 
sides  believed  themselves  to  be  contending  for  a  principle — the  great  ques- 
tion of  the  moral  right  or  wrong  of  human  slavery. 

During  these  long  years  of  fierce  and  incessant  strife,  through  the 
storm  there  stood  at  the  helm  of  the  ship  of  state  a  man  of  the  people, 
yet  a  most  uncommon  man,  patriotic,  calm,  persistent,  unmoved  by 
clamor,  tender-hearted  as  a  woman,  yet  an  intellectual  giant,  and  with  a 
devotion  to  his  trust  never  surpassed  in  the  history  of  the  human  race. 
Abraham  Lincoln  is  forever  embalmed  in  the  loving  gratitude  of  the  Amer- 
ican people,  and  the  sentiment  is  not  bounded  by  partisan  or  sectional 
lines. 

Side  by  side  with  Abraham  Lincoln  in  the  early  days  of  the  great  war 
stood  our  most  accomplished  and  distinguished  general,  the  hero  of  two 
foreign  wars.  To  these  two  men,  one  born  in  Kentucky,  the  other  in  Vir- 
ginia—Abraham Lincoln  and  Lieutenant-General  Winfield  Scott— more 
than  to  any  others,  Americans  of  that  critical  time,  as  well  as  the  seventy 
millions  of  to-day  and  the  unnumbered  millions  of  the  future,  are  in- 
debted for  the  salvation  of  their  republic  and  the  preservation  of  a  free 
government. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  29 

From  the  spring  of  1861  until  that  of  1865  there  was  waged  such  a  war 
as  mankind  had  never  before  witnessed.  The  best  blood  of  the  land  was 
engaged  in  that  conflict.  The  flower  of  our  youth  soon  formed  the  larg- 
est, most  intelligent  and  best  equipped  armies  that  the  world  had  up  to 
that  time  seen.  During  all  those  four  years  the  contest  did  not  cease  for 
a  single  day.  It  was  a  death  grapple  of  giants. 

Somewhere,  along  a  battle-front  extending  from  the  Chesapeake  to  the 
upper  Kio  Grande  overland,  and  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande  to  the 
Chesapeake  by  sea,  the  sound  of  flying  bullets  marked  the  fleeting  mo- 
ments, and  the  boom  of  cannon  tolled  the  passing  hours. 

For  every  day  of  those  four  years  of  strife  there  was  an  engagement, 
great  or  small,  which  brought  death  and  sorrow.  Every  other  interest 
was  overshadowed,  and  all  the  energies  of  both  combatants  were  strung 
to  the  utmost  tension,  a  tension  never  for  a  moment  relaxed  until  the 
final  close  at  Appomattox. 

The  inventive  American  genius  which  had  been  so  prolific  in  peaceful 
pursuits  was  turned  into  warlike  channels,  and  novel  inventions  and 
appliances  for  war  purposes  on  sea  and  land  were  introduced  and  ap- 
proved by  the  test  of  successful  trial.  Boys  from  the  field,  the  factory, 
the  counting  house  and  the  college  entered  the  ranks,  and  favored  by  the 
swiftly  changing  fortunes  of  war  many  rose  by  their  own  merit  to  such 
leadership  as  elsewhere  could  only  have  been  gained  by  birth  and  influ- 
ence, or  by  long  years  of  unremitting  effort  combined  with  unusual  talent. 
This  war  was  in  many  respects  without  precedent.  The  world's  history  fur- 
nishes no  similar  record  of  so  gigantic  a  rebellion  suppressed,  nor  of  such 
a  vast  body  of  armed  men  subject  to  the  orders  of  a  single  commander. 
The  valor  and  devotion  of  the  American  soldier,  as  attested  by  the  appal- 
ling lists  of  killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides,  are  the  common  heritage  of 
the  reunited  nation. 

That  feature  of  the  conflict  which  for  moral  grandeur  towers  above  all 
others  was  reserved  for  the  triumphant  close.  Never  before  were  com- 
plete victors  so  generous  to  the  vanquished.  The  highest  thought  of  the 
boasted  age  of  chivalry  was  now  immeasurably  surpassed  in  a  magnanimity 
to  defeated  foes  hitherto  unknown. 

It  was  my  fortune  to  take  part  in  that  memorable  struggle,  and  it  may 
not  be  amiss  for  me  briefly  to  allude  to  some  incidents  which  most  im- 
pressed themselves  upon  my  memory.  No  two  can  see  the  panorama  of 
the  war  alike,  for  each  sees  it  only  from  his  own  point  of  contact,  but  to 
each  who  survived,  it  was  a  schooling  for  all  his  future  life.  General 


30 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


Sherman  has  said :  "  The  best  school  of  war  is  war,"  and  he  might  have 
added  that  the  thorough  discipline  of  the  military  service  is  always  a  most 
valuable  education  for  any  sphere  of  manly  occupation. 

Leaving  the  commercial  pursuits  upon  which  I  had  entered,  I  turned  my 
efforts  to  the  raising  of  a  company  of  volunteers.  A  number  of  public- 
spirited  men  called  a  public  meeting  in  the  Roxbury  district,  Boston,  and 

in  urging  the  enlistment  of  men  pledged  them- 
selves to  raise  a  fund  and  donate  a  portion  of  it  to 
each  member  of  the  company  as  they  should  volun- 
teer; this  fund,  when  so  desired,  to  go  to  the  benefit 
of  his  family.  In  the  expense  of  recruiting  this 
company  and  making  good  to  the  men  these  pledges 
which  had  not  been  entirely  fulfilled,  I 
expended  one  thousand  dollars  that  my 
father  had  given  me,  and  twenty-five  hun- 
dred more  which  I  had  borrowed,  giving 
my  note  for  the  last.  With  the  aid  of 
others  I  succeeded  in  raising  a  fine  com- 
pany, was  duly  chosen  captain,  was 
commissioned  as  such  by  the  governor 
of  the  State,  and  with  that  rank  was 
mustered  into  the  United  States  ser- 
vice. Subsequently  the  governor 
claimed  that  on  account  of  my  youth, 
twenty-one  years,  I  should  accept  a 
lower  commission  and  yield  up  the  one 
I  held,  to  be  given  to  a  political  friend 
of  his.  To  this  I  of  course  demurred, 
but  on  the  evening  before  the  regiment  left 
for  the  field,  the  governor  sent  his  adjutant- 
general  to  me  with  a  first  lieutenant's  com- 
mission, and  with  directions  for  me  to  return 
the  captain's  commission  which  I  had  pre- 
viously received.  As  I  had  engaged  in  the 
service  against  the  enemies  of  my  country,  I  did  not  propose  to  abandon 
that  service  to  engage  in  a  contest  with  the  governor  of  my  State,  how- 
ever just  my  cause,  though  I  certainly  regarded  the  position  he  had  taken 
as  unwarranted  and  harsh  in  the  extreme.  I,  therefore,  began  my  military 
service  as  a  captain  reduced  to  a  first  lieutenant,  in  the  Twenty-second 


LIEUTENANT  MILES. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


31 


Regiment  of  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  organized  and  first  commanded 
by  Colonel  Henry  Wilson,  afterward  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 
Before  leaving  for  Washington,  in  September  1861,  the  regiment  was 
paraded  on  Boston  Common  and  presented  with  a  flag  at  the  hands  of 
Hon.  Robert  Winthrop,  at  that  time  the  oldest  living  Ex-Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  lately  deceased.  In  receiving  the  flag  Colonel 
Wilson  acknowledged  the  gift  by  an  eloquent  speech  which  created  the 
greatest  enthusiasm,  closing  with  these  words : 

"  We  hope  that  when  this  contest  shall  close,  the  unity  of  the  republic  will  be  assured 
and  the  cause  of  republican  institutions  in  America  established  evermore.  We  go  forth, 
sir,  in  that  spirit  to  do  our  duty,  cheered  with  the  confidence  and  approbation  of  our  friends 
in  Massachusetts.  And  may  God  in  his  providence  grant  that  by  no  act  of  ours  we  shall 
lose  that  confidence  and  approbation." 

After  serving  for  a  short  time  with  the  regiment  I  was  detailed  for  staff 
duty  as  aide-de-camp,  and  afterward  as  assistant  adjutant-general  of  a 
brigade.  On  the  31st  of  May,  1862,  on  the  recommendation  of  that  dis- 
tinguished soldier,  General  Francis  C.  Barlow,  I  was 
appointed  lieutenant-colonel  of  his  regiment,  the  Sixty- 
first  New  York  Volunteers,  by  Governor  E.  D.  Morgan, 
and  on  September  30,  of  the  same  year,  was  com- 
missioned by  Governor  Morgan  to  the  colonelcy  of  the 
same  regiment,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
promotion  of  Colonel  Barlow  to  the  rank  of  brigadier- 
general.  On  the  12th  of  May,  1864,  I  was  promoted 
to  brigadier-general ;  on  the  25th  of  August 
the  same  year  I  received  the  brevet  of  major- 
general,  and  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major- 
general  of  volunteers  the  following  year. 

Among  the  incidents  of  my  early  service  in 
the  army  which  impressed  themselves  indeli- 
bly upon  my  memory,  were  those  attending  the 
organization  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  under 
General  George  B.  McClellan ;  the  crossing  of 
the  Rappahannock ;  the  return  to  Alexandria ; 
the  embarkation  in  transports  and  debarkation 
at  Fort  Monroe ;  the  advance  up  the  Peninsula 
until  face  to  face  with  the  enemy  under  General  Magruder  in  his  line  of 
fortifications  near  Yorktown,  Virginia,  stretching  from  the  James  to  the 
York  River.  I  remember  that  this  movement  occasioned  the  comment 


32 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


at  the  time,  even  among  the  young  volunteers,  that  the  principal  army  of 

the  nation  should  not  be  risked  upon  the  point  of  a  peninsula  with  an  army 

intrenched  in  its  front,  its  base  surrounded  by  water  and  guarded  by  only 

that  little  Monitor.  This  vessel  had  been  furnished 
by  the  genius  of  Ericsson  and  the  patriotism  of 
himself  and  Messrs.  Bushnell,  Griswold  and  Win- 
throp,  at  their  own  expense,  as  a  defense  against  the 
formidable  Merrimac,  the  then  terror  of  the  seas, 
whose  powers  were  not  exhausted  until  she  had  been 
blown  up  by  her  own  men  after  Norfolk  had  been 
captured  by  General  Wool,  and  General 
Magruder's  army  was  in  retreat  up  the 
Peninsula,  followed  by  McClelland.  I 
recall  the  fierce  battle  of  Williamsburg, 
the  terrible  battles  of  Seven  Pines,  Fair 
Oaks,  in  which  I  was  wounded,  Gaines 
Mills,  Savage  Station,  White  Oak  Swamp, 
Nelson's  Farm  and  Malvern  Hill.  In 
the  last  a  most  important,  desperate  and 
decisive  battle  was  fought,  though  the 
legitimate  advantages  of  the  victory 
were  not  realized,  as  our  army  was  im- 
mediately ordered  down  to  Harrison's 

Landing  on  the  James  River,  where  it  remained  for  several   months.     I 

also  remember  the  recall  of  our  army  from  the  James 

River  back  again  to  Alexandria,  and  its  advance  during 

what  is  known  as  Pope's  Campaign,  or  the  battles  of  Cedar 

Mountain,  the  second  Manassas  and  Chantilly.     Then 

followed  the  advance  of  Lee's  army  into  Maryland  and 

the  battles  of  South  Mountain  and  Antietam,  suc- 
ceeded by  McClellan's  advance  again  to  Warrenton, 

Virginia.     Then  General  Burnside's  disastrous  battle 

of  Fredericksburg,  December  13,  1862,  where  I  was 

seriously  wounded,  was  followed  by  the  opening  of 

the  campaign  of  1863  in  the  fiercely-contested  but 

disastrous  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  under  General 

Hooker.     In  the  retreat  from  Chancellorsville  the  MAJOR-GENERAL  FRANCIS  s. 

Union  army  lost  a  most  important  battle,  and  the 

Confederate  army  achieved  a  great  victory ;  yet  their  loss  was  greater  than 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


33 


ours,  for  it  included  that  genius  of  war,  Stonewall  Jackson.  In  this  battle 
I  was  terribly,  then  supposed  to  be  mortally,  wounded,  and  was  obliged  to 
be  out  of  the  field  for  a  time.  Before  I  was  able  to  return  to  my  own  com- 
mand in  the  field,  I  organized  a  brigade  of  the  volunteer  forces  raised  in 
Pennsylvania  to  aid  in  checking  Lee's  invasion  of  that  State.  This  brigade 
was  organized  at  Huntingdon  on  the  Juniata  River,  but  its  services,  with 
other  like  forces,  were  not  required,  owing  to  the  results  achieved  in  the 
great  struggle  and  victory  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  under  Major-General  George  G. 
Meade  over  Lee's  exultant  army  at  Gettys- 
burg. 

Later  I  was  able  to  return  to  the  Second 
Army  Corps  and  take  part  in  the  campaign 
of  the  autumn  of  1863,  and  the  terrible  cam- 
paign of  1864  from  the  Wilderness  to  Peters- 
burg and   Eichmond,  in   which  more  than 
sixty    thousand    men    of    the 
Army  of  the   Potomac   were 
placed  hors  de  combat.     I  also 
took  part  in  the  final  campaign 
of  1865. 

In  these  campaigns  my  com- 
mand consisted  of  a  regiment, 
the  Sixty-first  New  York,  then 
of  a  brigade,  and  during  the 
last  two  campaigns,  of  the  first 
Division  of  the  Second  Army 
Corps ;  also,  for  a  short  time 
during  February,  1865, 1  was  in 
command  of  the  Second  Army  Corps.  The  chances  of  war  cast  my  lot  from 
the  first  with  this  organization,  the  Second  Army  Corps,  organized  and 
first  commanded  by  the  veteran  Major-General  Sumner,  and  afterward 
in  succession  by  Major-Generals  Couch,  Hancock,  Sedgwick,  French,  Hayes, 
Mott,  Barlow,  Caldwell,  Humphreys,  and  for  a  brief  period  by  myself, 
as  stated. 

It  inscribed  a  greater  number  of  engagements  upon  its  banners 
than  did  any  other  corps  of  the  army,  and  I  think,  more  than  any 
other  army-corps  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The  graves  of  its  fallen 
are  to  be  found  on  every  battle-field  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  from 


GENERAL  WINFIELD  8.  HANCOCK. 


34  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

the  date  of  its  organization  to  Appomattox.  The  battle-flags  it  captured 
outnumbered  its  engagements.  As  the  war  for  the  Union  was  unprec- 
edented in  the  history  of  the  world,  so  the  history  of  the  Second  Army 
Corps  was  unprecedented  in  that  war.  Its  aggregate  wounded  and 
killed  in  battle  exceeded  in  number  that  of  any  other  corps.  The  greatest 
aggregate  of  killed  and  wounded  in  any  division  of  the  army  was  in 
the  First  Division  of  that  corps,  and  the  highest  aggregate  of  killed  and 
wounded  in  any  one  regiment  of  the  whole  army  was  in  a  regiment  belong- 
ing to  the  Second  Corps.  The  largest  percentage  of  killed  and  wounded  in 
a  single  engagement  in  any  one  regiment  was  in  a  regiment  belonging  to 
the  Second  Corps.  The  second  highest  percentage  of  regimental  loss  by 
death  and  wounds  was  also  in  a  regiment  of  that  corps.*  As  to  the  suc- 
cesses and  achievements  of  that  famous  corps,  they  are  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  it  captured  in  a  single  day  as  many  battle-flags,  cannon  and  prisoners  of 
the  enemy  as  it  lost  in  the  entire  four  years  of  war. 

Speaking  of  this  corps,  Major-General  Winfield  S.  Hancock  says  in  a 
letter  dated  in  August,  1864.  before  Petersburg,  Virginia,  and  addressed  to 
Lieutenant-General  Grant : 

"  It  is  perhaps  known  to  you  that  this  corps  had  never  lost  a  color  or  a  gun  previous  to 
this  campaign,  though  oftener  and  more  desperately  engaged  than  any  other  corps  in  this 
army,  or  perhaps  in  any  other  in  the  country.  I  have  not  the  means  of  knowing  exactly 
the  number  of  guns  and  colors  captured,  but  I  saw  myself  nine  in  the  hands  of  one 
division  at  Antietam,  and  the  official  reports  show  that  thirty-four  fell  into  the  hands  of 
that  corps  at  Gettysburg.  Before  the  opening  of  this  campaign  it  had  at  least  captured 
over  half  a  hundred  colors,  though  at  cost  of  over  twenty-five  thousand  (25,000)  casualties. 
During  this  campaign  you  can  judge  how  well  the  corps  has  performed  its  part.  It  has 
captured  more  guns  and  colors  than  all  the  rest  of  the  army  combined.  Its  reverses  have 
not  been  many,  and  they  began  only  when  the  corps  had  dwindled  to  a  remnant  of  its 
former  strength  ;  after  it  had  lost  twenty-five  brigade  commanders  and  over  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  regimental  commanders,  and  over  twenty  thousand  men." 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  probably  engaged  in  as  many  desperate 
battles  as  any  army  ever  was  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The  map  of  the 
country  between  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  Appomattox,  Virginia,  is 
red  with  the  crimson  spots  that  indicate  its  history.  That  army  was 
charged  with  the  grave  double  responsibility  of  protecting  the  national 
capital,  and  of  capturing  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy.  It  was  further 
charged  with  the  destruction  or  capture  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia, 
commanded  by  one  of  the  ablest  of  generals,  Robert  E.  Lee,  seconded  by 

•See  Regimental  losses  in  the  "  American  Civil  War.  1861-1865,"  by  Lt.-Col.  Wm.  F.  Fox,  pages  67  and  115. 


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GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


37 


that  thunderbolt  of  war,  "  Stonewall "  Jackson.  All  these  tasks  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  accomplished.  The  number  and  desperate  character  of  its  en- 
counters may  be  illustrated  by  the  history  of  the  single  corps  of  that  army 
already  mentioned.  Its  personnel  were  largely  volunteers  who  had  been 
quick  to  offer  up  their  lives  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  Knowing 
the  value  of  military  discipline  they  accepted  without  complaint  its 
extremest  requirements.  This  explains  the  matchless  fortitude  displayed 
by  that  army  through  the  long  and  trying  years  of  the  war,  much  of  the 
time  suffering  under  reverses  and  disasters  that  would  have  destroyed  the 
morale  of  any  army  composed  of  less  choice  material.  And  of  the  same 
choice  material  were  the  entire  national  forces  composed.  While  heroic 
sacrifices  were  made  by  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  other  armies  and  fleets 
were  with  similar  devotion  engaged  in  the  same  noble  cause. 

The  Army  of  the  Union  was,  in  fact,  "  The  People  in  Arms."  It  mirrored 
all  the  diversified  opinions  and  pursuits  of  a  free  and  intelligent  democracy. 
The  force  that  called  it  together  was  the  same  spirit  that  had  made  a 
"government  of  the  people"  possible.  Love  of  adventure  may  have  had 
its  natural  influence  in  stimulating  enlistment,  but  the  ranks  were,  never- 
theless, largely  filled  with  youth,  who  had  no  love  for  war,  but  who  left 
their  homes  and  the  pursuits  of  peace  that  the  Nation  might  not  perish. 
To  the  large  number  of  young  men  is  to  be  attributed  much  of  the  hopeful 
spirit  always  manifested  by  the  army  in  adversity.  Though  often  baffled 
by  costly  and  disheartening  reverses,  though  changing  commanders  often, 
especially  in  the  east,  it  never  lost  its  discipline,  its  high  spirit,  and  its  con- 
fidence in  final  success. 


M— 8 


38  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  III. 
LAST  SCENES  OF  THE  GREAT  WAR. 

BATTLE  OF  NASHVILLE  —  MARCHING  THROUGH  GEORGIA  —  FIVE  FORKS  —  STORMING  THE  WORKS 
AT  PETERSBURG  —  FALL  OF  RICHMOND  —  SCENES  IN  CAMP  —  CORRESPONDENCE  BETWEEN 
THE    Two    COMMANDERS  —  APPOMATTOX  —  JOY    OF    THE     SOLDIERS  —  DEATH 
OF     THE    PRESIDENT  —  WHAT    WE     WON,   AND    CONSEQUENCES     OF 
FAILURE  —  THE      ARMY      DISBANDED  —  AUTHOR'S      AP- 
POINTMENT   AS    COLONEL    AND   BREVET    MAJOR- 
GENERAL      UNITED     STATES       ARMY. 

HE  spring  of  1865  witnessed  the  final  scenes  in  this  great 
drama  of  war  where  the  stage  was  a  continent,  and  the  whole 
world  the  audience.  The  "Rock  of  Chickamauga,"  General 
George  H.  Thomas,  had  annihilated  the  opposing  forces  on  the 
ice-covered  fields  of  Nashville,  and  Sherman's  victorious  army 
had  swept  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea,  and  was  taking  the  South 
Atlantic  defenses  in  reverse  by  its  onward  march  toward  the 
North.  The  success  of  Sheridan  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  had 
enabled  him  to  return  the  Sixth  Corps,  which  had  been  temporarily 
detached,  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  to  move  with  his  cavalry 
corps  to  the  left  of  the  line  confronting  Petersburg.  The  line  of  battle 
confronting  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  under  General  Robert  E.  Lee, 
stretched  from  the  north  side  of  the  James  River,  northeast  of  Richmond, 
to  the  south  side  of  Appomattox  near  Five  Forks,  south  of  Petersburg, 
more  than  thirty  miles.  The  troops  on  the  north  side  of  the  James  River, 
immediately  in  front  of  Richmond,  were  under  the  command  of  Major- 
General  E.  0.  C.  Ord;  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  under  Major-General 
George  G.  Meade,  occupied  the  center,  and  the  cavalry  under  Sheridan 
the  extreme  left ;  all  under  General  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  commanding  all 
the  armies. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  adequately  describe  the  closing  scenes  of 
this  historic  conflict.  There  was  a  general  advance  ordered  along  our 
entire  line,  and  the  extending  of  the  line  to  the  left,  with  Sheridan's 
cavalry  reinforced  by  the  Fifth  Corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  under 
Major-General  Warren,  resulted  in  a  victory  for  us  in  the  engagement 
at  Five  Forks,  April  1,  1865.  The  following  morning  the  entire  line  of 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  39 

battle  assaulted  the  enemy's  works,  swept  over  the  fortifications  of 
Petersburg  and  Richmond,  and  the  national  flag  at  last  floated  over  the 
capital  and  stronghold  of  the  Confederacy.  From  that  point  to  Appo- 
mattox  Court  House  was  almost  one  continuous  battlefield,  the  pursuers 
attacking  the  retreating  enemy  wherever  overtaken.  Anyone  who  has 
witnessed  a  tornado,  or  a  violent  storm  at  sea  or  on  the  great  lakes,  where 
the  sturdy  ships  have  been  swept  before  the  continuous  and  incessant 
fury  of  the  storm,  every  safeguard  broken  down,  their  anchors  dragging, 
and  everything  swept  before  the  destroying  power,  may  form  some  idea 
of  the  resistlessness  with  which  a  hundred  thousand  men  in  practically 
one  continuous  line  with  reserves,  swept  over  fortifications,  capturing 
many  forts  and  two  great  cities,  and  pressed  on  in  one  unbroken  front. 

It  was  a  front  which  blazed  and  thundered  shot  and  shell,  hailed  iron 
and  lead,  which  was  marked  by  the  smoke  and  roar  of  its  line  of  advan- 
cing batteries.  The  shouts  of  its  victorious  hosts  swelled  on  the  gale, 
while  the  moans  of  the  dying  and  wounded  murmured  in  its  wake.  Dur- 
ing the  hours  of  every  day  there  was  constant  pursuit  and  fighting,  and 
the  hours  of  night  were  devoted  to  replenishing  the  supplies  of  food  and 
ammunition,  and  preparing  for  the  following  day,  with  little  time  given 
to  rest  or  sleep.  The  important  engagements  at  Sutherland  Station, 
Sweet  House  Creek,  Tabernacle  Church,  Amelia  Court  House,  Jetersville, 
Sailor's  Creek,  Farmville,  all  these  preceded  the  final  scene  at  Appomattox 
Court  House. 

Yet  these  desperate  encounters  were  not  without  the  alleviation  of 
occasional  scenes  of  mirth  and  revelry.  On  the  day  of  the  engagement  at 
Sailor's  Creek,  my  division  marched  in  line  of  battle  over  sixteen  miles, 
fighting  over  every  ridge,  and  assaulting  every  defense.  We  could  occa- 
sionally see  in  the  distance  the  large  wagon-train  which  the  Confederate 
forces  were  endeavoring  to  protect  and  which  the  Union  forces  were 
determined  to  capture.  Just  as  the  sun  was  setting  in  the  west,  the  final 
assault  of  the  day  was  made  at  Sailor's  Creek,  resulting  in  the  complete 
rout  of  the  enemy  and  the  capture  of  this  entire  train,  numbering  over 
two  hundred  wagons,  and  many  battle-flags,  pieces  of  artillery,  and  thou- 
sands of  prisoners.  Then  as  night  mantled  the  field  of  slaughter,  a  scene 
of  comedy  was  enacted  about  the  bivouac  fires.  After  the  troops  were  in 
position  for  the  night  and  the  soldiers  had  partaken  of  their  spare  meal 
of  coffee  and  crackers,  they  gratified  their  curiosity  by  a  rigid  inspection 
of  the  day's  trophies,  and  several  of  the  wagons  were  found  loaded  with 
the  assets  of  the  Confederate  Treasury  which  had  been  brought  out  of 


40 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


that  department  at  Richmond.  Then  followed  a  most  extraordinary 
spectacle  of  jollity  and  good  humor.  A  Monte  Carlo  was  suddenly  im- 
provised in  the  midst  of  the  bivouac  of  war. 

"  Here's  the  Confederate  Treasury,  as  sure  as  you  are  a  soldier,"  shouts  one. 

"  Let's  all  be  rich,"  says  another. 

"  Fill  your  pockets,  your  hats,  your  haversacks,  your  handkerchiefs, 
your  arms,  if  you  please,"  was  the  word,  and  the  Confederate  notes  and 


UNION  SOLDIERS  GAMBLING  WITH  CONFEDERATE  MONEY. 

bonds  were  rapidly  disbursed.    If  they  were  at  a  discount,  they  were  crisp 
and  new  and  in  enormous  denominations. 

Spreading  their  blankets  on  the  ground  by  the  bivouac  fires  the  veter- 
ans proceeded  with  the  comedy,  and  such  preposterous  gambling  was 
probably  never  before  witnessed.  Ten  thousand  dollars  was  the  usual 
"ante;"  often  twenty  thousand  to  "come  in;"  a  raise  of  fifty  thousand  to 
one  hundred  thousand  was  not  unusual  and  frequently  from  one  million 
to  two  millions  of  dollars  were  in  the  "  pool." 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


41 


"Be  prudent  stranger,"  "Don't  go  beyond  your  means,  my  friend," 
were  some  of  the  remarks  frequently  heard  amid  roars  of  laughter;  to- 
gether with  an   occasional  shout   of  "Freedom  forever!"    "Rally  round 
the  flag,   boys!"   "Aint  I 
glad   I'm  in  this  army!" 
"We  are   coming  Father 
Abraham!"  "Boys,   what 
do  you  say?  Let's  pay  off 
the    Confederate     debt," 
etc.,  etc. 

They  were  seemingly 
as  light-hearted  and  obliv- 
ious to  what  might  follow 
as  it  is  possible  for  sol- 
diers to  be.  They  kept 
up  the  revelry  during  most 
of  the  night,  and  some 
were  to  make  the  soldier's 
sacrifice  on  the  morrow, 

While  Others  were  to  Wit-  VILLAGE  OF  APPOMATTOX. 

ness  the  scene  of  final  tri- 
umph. Soon  after  daylight  on  the  following  morning,  April  7,  found  the 
troops  in  a  hot  pursuit  which  was  continued  across  a  branch  of  the 
Appomattox  River,  near  High  Bridge,  toward  Farmville,  and  a  sharp 
engagement  ensued  at  the  latter  place.  The  command  held  tenaciously 
to  its  close  proximity  to  the  enemy's  line  in  the  several  engagements  dur- 
ing the  day,  and  in  the  evening  Adjutant-General  Seth  Williams  came  to 
my  division  headquarters  bearing  a  letter  from  Lieutenant-General  Grant 
addressed  to  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  commanding  the  Confederate  Army,  de- 
manding the  surrender  of  that  army.  This  letter  passed  through  my  line 
under  a  flag  of  truce,  and  the  reply  of  General  Lee  was  returned  through 
the  same  channel.  This  correspondence,  though  now  well-known  history, 
is  again  given  here  as  a  part  of  my  narrative.  It  was  as  follows: 

April  7, 1865. 

GENERAL  : — The  results  of  the  last  week  must  convince  you  of  the  hopelessness  of 
further  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  in  this  struggle.  I  feel 
that  it  is  so,  and  regard  it  as  my  duty  to  shift  from  myself  the  responsibility  of  any  further 
effusion  of  blood  by  asking  of  you  the  surrender  of  that  portion  of  the  Confederate  States 
Army  known  as  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant-General. 

GENERAL  R.  E.  LEE. 


42  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

7th  April  '65. 

GEN'L: — I  have  received  your  note  of  this  date.  Though  not  entertaining  the  opinion 
you  express  of  the  hopelessness  of  further  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Army  of  N. 
Va.,  I  reciprocate  your  desire  to  avoid  useless  effusion  of  blood,  and  therefore  before 
considering  your  proposition,  ask  the  terms  you  will  offer  on  condition  of  its  surrender. 

Very  respt.  your  obt.  svt.  R.  E.  LEE,  Gen'l. 

LT.-GEN'L  U.  S.  GRANT,  Commd.  Armies  of  the  U.  States. 

Next  day  the  pursuit  continued,  and  the  following  letter  was  sent  in 
like  manner  as  the  first: 

April  8,  1865. 

GENERAL: — Your  note  of  last  evening  in  reply  to  mine  of  same  date,  asking  the 
condition  on  which  I  will  accept  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  is  just 
received.  In  reply  I  would  say,  that  peace  being  my  great  desire,  there  is  but  one  condi- 
tion I  would  insist  upon,  namely:  That  the  men  and  officers  surrendered  shall  be  dis- 
qualified from  taking  up  arms  again  against  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  until 
properly  exchanged.  I  will  meet  you,  or  will  designate  officers  to  meet  any  officers  you 
may  designate  for  the  same  purpose,  at  any  point  agreeable  to  you,  for  the  purpose  of 
arranging  definitely  the  terms  upon  which  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 
will  be  received.  U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant-General. 

GENERAL  R.  E.  LEE. 

The  correspondence  continued  as  follows  : 

8  April,  '65. 

GEN'L: — I  rec'd  at  a  late  hour  your  note  of  to-day.  In  mine  of  yesterday  I  did  not 
intend  to  propose  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  N.  Va.,  but  to  ask  the  terms  of  your  prop- 
osition. To  be  frank,  I  do  not  think  the  emergency  has  arisen  to  call  for  the  surrender 
of  this  army,  but  as  the  restoration  of  peace  should  be  the  sole  'object  of  all,  I  desired  to 
know  whether  your  proposals  would  lead  to  that  end.  I  cannot  therefore  meet  you  with 
a  view  to  surrender  the  Army  of  N.  Va.,  but  as  far  as  your  proposal  may  affect  the  C.  S. 
forces  under  my  command  and  tend  to  the  restoration  of  peace,  I  should  be  pleased  to  meet 
you  at  10  A.  M.  to-morrow  on  the  old  stage  road  to  Richmond  between  the  picket  lines  of 
the  two  armies.  Very  respt.  your  obt.  svt. 

R.  E.  LEE,  Genl. 
LT.-GEN'L  U.  S.  GRANT,  Commd.  Armies  of  the  U.  S. 

April  9,  1865. 

GENERAL: — Your  note  of  yesterday  is  received.  I  have  no  authority  to  treat  on  the 
subject  of  peace;  the  meeting  proposed  for  ten  A.  M.  to-day  could  lead  to  no  good.  I 
will  state,  however,  General,  that  I  am  equally  anxious  for  peace  with  yourself,  and  the 
whole  North  entertains  the  same  feeling.  The  terms  upon  which  peace  can  be  had  are 
well  understood.  By  the  South  laying  down  their  arms  they  will  hasten  that  most  desira- 
ble event,  save  thousands  of  human  lives  and  hundreds  of  millions  of  property  not  yet 
destroyed.  Seriously  hoping  that  all  our  difficulties  may  be  settled  without  the  loss  of 
another  life,  I  subscribe  myself,  etc.  U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant-General. 

GENERAL  R.  E.  LEE. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  43 

April  9th,  1865. 

GENERAL: — I  received  your  note  of  this  morning  on  the  picket  line  whither  I  had 
come  to  meet  you  and  ascertain  definitely  what  terms  were  embraced  in  your  proposal  of 
yesterday,  with  reference  to  the  surrender  of  this  army.  I  now  request  an  interview  in 
accordance  with  the  offer  contained  in  your  letter  of  yesterday,  for  the  purpose. 

Very  respectfully,  Your  obedient  servt. 

R.  E.  LEE,  General. 
LT.-GEN.  U.  S.  GRANT,  Comdg.  U.  S.  Armies. 

This  letter  and  the  one  following  could  not  be  immediately  delivered 
to  General  Grant  for  a  reason  which  will  presently  appear,  and  soon  there- 
after General  Lee  came  up  to  my  line  with  two  staff  officers  for  the  purpose 
of  surrendering  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 

When  Major-General  Humphrey,  commanding  the  corps,  and  Major- 
General  Meade  were  informed  of  his  presence,  General  Lee  was  told  that 
General  Grant  had  left  that  part  of  the  line  and  was  on  his  way  around  to 
the  extreme  left  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  join  General  Sheridan's 
command.  He,  General  Lee,  then  requested  that  hostilities  be  suspended 
until  he  could  meet  General  Grant,  and  left  one  of  his  staff  officers  there  to 
represent  him  with  that  request.  He  also  wrote  another  note  to  be  sent 

from  that  point  to  General  Grant,  as  follows: 

9th  April,  1865. 

GENERAL: — I  ask  a  suspension  of  hostilities  pending  the  adjustment  of  the  terms  of 
the  surrender  of  this  army,  in  the  interview  requested  in  my  former  communication  to-day. 
Very  respectfully,  Your  obedient  servant, 

R.  E.  LEE,  General. 
LT.-GEN.  U.  S.  GRANT,  Comdg.  U.  S.  Army. 

He  was  then  obliged  to  pass  back  through  his  army  to  the  right  to 
General  Sheridan's  front  where,  after  the  following  correspondence,  he 
met  General  Grant  and  finally  made  the  surrender,  after  a  delay  of  several 
hours,  caused  by  the  change  of  General  Grant's  personal  position  as  above 
mentioned.  (See  Humphrey's  History  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  page 

394.) 

HDQRS  A.  N.  VA.,  9th  April  1865. 

GENERAL:  —  I  sent  a  communication  to  you  to-day  from  the  picket  line  whither  I 
had  gone  in  hopes  of  meeting  you  in  pursuance  of  the  request  contained  in  my  letter  of 
yesterday.  Maj.-Gen.  Meade  informed  me  that  it  would  probably  expedite  matters  to 
send  a  duplicate  through  some  other  part  of  your  lines.  I,  therefore,  request  an  interview 
at  such  time  and  place  as  you  may  designate,  to  discuss  the  terms  of  surrender  of  this 
army,  in  accordance  with  your  offer  to  have  such  an  interview  contained  in  your  letter  of 
yesterday.  Very  respectfully  your  obt.  svt. 

R.  E.  LEE,  General. 

LT.-GEN.  U.  S.  GRANT,  Comd'g  U.  S.  Armies. 


44  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

April  9,  1865. 

GENERAL: — Your  note  of  this  date  is  but  this  moment  (11:50  A.  M.)  received,  in 
consequence  of  my  having  passed  from  the  Richmond  and  Lynchburg  road  to  the  Farm- 
ville  and  Lynchburg  road.  I  am  at  this  writing  about  four  miles  west  of  Walker's 
Church,  and  will  push  forward  to  the  front  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  you.  Notice  sent 
me  on  this  road  where  you  wish  this  interview  to  take  place  will  meet  me. 

U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant-General. 
GENERAL  R.  E.  LEE.  Commanding  C.  S.  Armies. 

The  following  letter  presents  some  additional  facts,  hitherto  unpub- 
lished bearing  upon  the  circumstances  attending  the  surrender  : 

UNION  CLUB,  N.  Y..  February  15,  '96. 

DEAR  GENERAL  : — It  was  a  mere  chance,  and  a  hard  one  for  the  glory  of  your 
division  and  our  corps,  that  Lee's  surrender  did  not  take  place  on  the  morning  of  April 
9th  on  your  front.  On  the  preceding  day  I  had  gone  out  with  the  second  of  the  flags  of 
truce  relating  to  surrender,  in  company  with  Gen.  Seth  Williams  (whose  orderly  behind 
us  was  shot  at  that  time).  Gen.  Williams  explicitly  stated  that  impending  operations 
were  not  at  all  to  be  affected.  At  noon  the  same  day  a  flag,  sent  by  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee, 
was  met  by  me.  He  asked  if  the  operations  were  to  cease,  pending  the  correspondence. 
Having  heard  Gen.  Williams'  statement  I  was  able  to  answer  in  the  negative.  That 
same  night  I  had  a  long  ride  to  the  rear,  where  Generals  Grant  and  Meade  had  adjoining 
camps.  I  waited  there  until  midnight.  Returning  to  the  Corps,  I  found  it  had  advanced 
during  the  night,  and  threw  myself  on  the  ground  to  sleep,  but  was  soon  awakened  by 
Gen.  Humphreys  with  a  sweet  and  considerate  apology  for  asking  me  to  go  out  again 
with  a  flag  since  I  had  had  no  sleep.  But  of  course  I  was  glad  to  go. 

First  I  met  the  Chief  of  Couriers  at  Lee's  Headquarters,  next  Col.  Chas.  Marshall, 
Lee's  A.D.C.  and  Military  Sec'y  and  next  Gen.  Lee.  The  latter  had  come  to  this  place, 
as  stated  in  his  letter  to  Gen.  Grant,  "  to  meet  you  (Gen.  Grant)  and  ascertain  definitely 
what  terms  were  embraced  in  your  proposition  of  yesterday  with  reference  to  the  sur- 
render of  this  Army." 

It  was  the  chance  of  Gen.  Grant  riding  to  the  left  to  see  Gen.  Sheridan,  instead 
of  coming  to  our  front,  where  Lee  expected  him,  that  prevented  the  surrender  being 
made  on  our  (your)  front.  Such  little  incidents  give  a  different  face  to  history.  To 
resume,  Lee  started  his  reply  to  Gen.  Grant's  letter,  but  closed  it  in  haste,  being  dis- 
turbed by  the  firing  at  Appomattox.  I  conveyed  the  letter  and  in  addition  a  verbal 
message  to  the  effect  that  he  had  come  there  expecting  to  meet  Gen.  Grant,  and  under- 
standing the  military  operations  would  be  suspended,  and  that  he  wished  to  know  when 
and  where  they  could  meet.  The  surrender,  as  is  known  in  detail,  soon  followed. 

Ever  sincerely  yours,  CHAS.  A.  WHITTIER. 

GEN.  NELSON  A.  MILES,  Commander  U.  S.  A. 

The  final  result  was,  however,  most  gratifying,  though  the  culminating 
scene  had  been  thus  shifted  and  delayed.  During  the  four  hours  of  the 
suspension  of  hostilities  pending  the  surrender,  the  batteries  went  into 
position  and  the  lines  of  battle  were  formed,  ready  for  immediate  attack. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  45 

You  could  see  the  gleam  of  alternating  hope  and  anxiety  playing  upon  the 
faces  of  those  war-worn  troops  wherever  you  turned.  In  anticipation  of 
the  final  result  the  headquarters  band  of  my  division  was  ordered  up  close 
in  the  rear  of  our  line  of  battle,  and  when  the  announcement  came  that 
General  Lee  had  surrendered  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  this  band 
broke  the  silence  with  the  music  of  "  Hail  Columbia  "  and  the  other  national 
airs  with  indescribable  spirit  and  volume.  The  example  was  followed  by 
all  the  bands  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  the  shouts  of  victory 
and  peace  swelled  from  a  hundred  thousand  throats,  and  above  all  re- 
echoed such  continued  thunder  from  double-charged  cannon,  firing  blank 
cartridges,  as  has  seldom  been  heard  on  any  battlefield.  At  the  same  time 
the  air  was  full  of  hats,  canteens,  haversacks,  cartridge  boxes;  everything 
that  could  be  detached  from  .the  person  and  thrown  high  overhead.  Sol- 
diers who  had  borne  the  brunt  of  battle  for  four  years  with  absolute  forti- 
tude melted  like  overjoyed  women  and  embraced  each  other  in  their  arms, 
or  rolled  like  children  upon  the  turf.  Their  hearts  were  filled  with  irre- 
pressible gladness,  their  faces  bedewed  with  tears  of  joy.  The  battle-torn 
flags  were  waved,  embraced  and  kissed  by  the  bronzed  and  war-scarred 
veterans.  It  is  utterly  impossible  to  adequately  describe  the  scene,  or  the 
feelings  that  swelled  the  souls  of  that  army.  Thankfulness,  joy,  generosity, 
magnanimity,  patriotism,  were  all  mingled  in  the  feelings  of  the  hour. 
The  exultation  of  victory  and  the  joyous  anticipation  of  returning  to  our 
homes,  were  tempered  by  sympathy  and  respect  for  a  vanquished  but 
valiant  foe. 

Possibly  their  emotions  could  not  be  better  expressed  than  in  these 
lines,  written  by  Associate  Justice  Brewer,  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court: 

"Now  thanks  be  to  God  for  the  dawning  of  peace, 
A  respite  from  conflict  and  a  sweet  release 
From  the  carnage  of  war  and  the  horrors  of  strife, 
The  shedding  of  blood  and  the  wasting  of  life; 
And  far  be  the  day  when  we  rally  again 
For  a  harvest  of  death  and  a  reaping  of  men, 
No  taunt  for  the  vanquished,  no  sneer  at  her  slain; 
"Tis  enough,  they  were  brothers  and  are  brothers  again; 
For  henceforth  forever  one  nation  shall  be 
From  ocean  to  ocean,  from  the  lakes  to  the  sea. 
And  o'er  our  land  one  flag  shall  float, 
One  song  ascend  from  every  throat; 
That  flag  the  banner  of  the  free; 
That  song  the  song  of  liberty." 


46  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

In  that  hour  we  could  not  but  remember  also  the  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  our  comrades  who  had  made  the  soldier's  sacrifice.  Elo- 
quently silent,  unseen,  but  present  to  our  fond  remembrance,  was  that 
spirit  host  in  this  hour  of  final  triumph.  Of  the  hundreds  of  thousands 
who  perished  in  that  great  war  many  to-day  rest  where  they  fell,  and  we 
find  a  consolation  and  an  expression  of  our  reverence  for  their  memories 
in  these  lines:— 

"  Cover  them  over  with  beautiful  flowers, 
Deck  them  with  garlands,  those  brothers  of  ours, 
Lying  so  silent  by  night  and  by  day, 
Sleeping  the  years  of   their  manhood  away. 
Give  them  the  meed  they  have  won  in  the  past; 
Give  them  the  honors  their  future  forecast; 
Give  them  the  chaplets  they  won  in  the  strife; 
Give  them  the  laurels  they  lost  with  their  life. 
Cover  them  over,  yes,  cover  them  over, 
Parent   and  husband,  brother  and  lover; 
Crown  in  your  hearts  those  heroes  of  ours, 
Cover  them  over  with  beautiful  flowers. 
Cover  the  thousands  who  sleep  far  away, 
Sleep  where  their  friends  cannot  find  them  to-day; 
They  who  in  mountain  and  hillside  and   dell, 
Rest  where   they  wearied,  and  lie  where  they  fell. 
Softly  the  grass-blades  creep  round  their  repose; 
Sweetly  above  them  the  wild  floweret  blows; 
Zephyrs  of  freedom  fly  gently  o'erhead, 
Whispering  prayers  for  the  patriot  dead." 

The  black-mouthed  cannon  were  at  last  parked  in  silence,  and  the  long 
commissary  trains  of  the  victorious  army  passed  through  the  surrendered 
lines  to  supply  alike  both  armies.  The  magnanimity  and  generosity  of  the 
silent  commander  touched  the  hearts  of  all  with  respect  and  admiration, 
and  all  realized  that  the  cause  that  divided  the  two  forces  had  at  last 
disappeared,  and  that  friendship  and  confidence  must  be  restored. 

The  great-hearted  leader  and  beloved  President  was  soon  to  fall,  but  his 
wise  and  generous  words  express  the  spirit  of  the  million  of  armed  veteran 
soldiers  who  put  off  the  habiliments  of  war  and  resumed  the  responsibilities 
and  duties  of  American  citizens.  They  represent  the  earnest  appeal  and 
wise  counsel  contained  in  his  first  inaugural :  "  We  are  not  enemies,  but 
friends.  We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though  passion  may  have  strained, 
it  must  not  break  our  bonds  of  affection.  The  mystic  chords  of  memory 
stretching  from  every  battlefield  and  patriot-grave  to  every  living  heart 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


47 


and  hearthstone  all  over  this  broad  land  will  yet  swell  the  chorus  of  the 
Union,  when  touched  again,  as  surely  they  will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of 
our  nature,"  and  his  words  at  Gettysburg,  "With  charity  for  all,  with 
malice  toward  none,  let  us  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds." 

In  this  spirit  the  veterans  furled  their  triumphant  banners,  stacked 
their  arms,  and  returned  again  to  the  peaceful  walks  of  life. 

In  order  to  comprehend  the  magnitude  of  the  cause  in  which  those 
men  were  engaged,  we  must  consider  what  would  have  been  the  result  to 
the  people  of  this  country,  and  to  the  whole  human  race,  if  they  had  failed 


APPROACH  OF  GENERAL  LEE  UNDER  FLAG  OP  TRUCE. 

in  that  heroic  enterprise  for  the  restoration  and  perpetuity  of  the  great 
republic.  It  was  a  question  of  national  life  or  of  dissolution,  of  one  grand 
republic,  or  of  two  or  several  conflicting  republics  or  principalities.  It 
was  a  question  between  anarchy  to  be  followed  by  despotism,  or  the 
restoration  of  the  great  republic  in  all  its  grandeur  and  magnificence 
with  an  assured  prosperous  and  peaceful  future. 

Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  how  near  we  came  to  dissolution  and 
destruction.     Let  us  take  a  few  reasonable  illustrations.     What  would 


48  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

have  been  the  result  had  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Winfield  Scott  failed  when 
the  country  was  in  the  first  dark  hour  of  its  imminent  peril?  What  would 
have  been  the  result  had  James  B.  Eads  gone  from  St.  Louis  to  Richmond 
instead  of  to  Washington,  and  proposed  to  construct  and  place  at  the 
service  of  the  Confederacy  instead  of  the  Federal  Government,  that  mag- 
nificent flotilla  of  gun-boats  that  contributed  so  largely,  under  the  gallant 
Foote,  to  the  opening  of  the  Mississippi  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf?  Sup- 
pose John  Ericsson,  that  master-mind  who  twice  revolutionized  the  navies 
of  the  world,  had  placed  his  Monitor  under  the  Confederate  flag  beside  the 
Merrimac  on  the  Chesapeake,  or  with  his  system  of  battleships  had  block- 
aded the  Northern  ports  instead  of  the  ports  of  the  Southern  States? 
What  would  have  been  the  result  if  Sherman's  army  had  exhausted  its 
strength  against  the  enemy  between  Chattanooga  and  Atlanta,  if  he  had 
conducted  an  ineffective  campaign  instead  of  sweeping  a  zone  from  At- 
lanta to  the  sea?  Or  what  would  have  been  the  result  had  Thomas  failed 
at  Nashville,  and  allowed  his  army  to  be  annihilated  and  left  his  oppo- 
nent's army  free  to  march  to  the  Great  Lakes?  Or,  again,  what  would  have 
been  the  result  had  the  army  under  Meade  been  captured  or  destroyed 
instead  of  hurling  back  the  most  powerful  army  contending  against  the 
government  when  it  had  reached  the  flood-tide  of  success  and  almost 
decisive  victory  on  the  crest  of  Gettysburg?  Instead  of  capturing  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia,  suppose  the  Armies  of  the  Potomac  and  the  James 
had  been  destroyed  or  captured  with  our  national  capital.  The  Confeder- 
acy would  then  have  been  recognized  as  an  established  government  by 
every  power  in  Europe,  and  ruin  and  universal  bankruptcy  would  have 
prevailed  where  universal  prosperity  has  since  flourished.  The  republican 
form  of  government  would  have  perished,  possibly  forever.  The  world 
could  then  have  said  that  after  nearly  one  hundred  years  of  experiment, 
under  the  most  favorable  circumstances  and  in  a  country  walled  by  two 
great  oceans,  republican  institutions  had  been  tried  and  had  utterly  failed. 
Despotic  government,  and  with  it  human  slavery,  would  have  been  the 
fate  of  man  for  an  indefinite  period  of  time. 

Now,  looking  back  after  thirty  years  of  unprecedented  peace  and  pros- 
perity, what  are  the  results  of  that  terrible  sacrifice?  What  has  been 
achieved,  and  what  results  do  we  see  to  compensate  for  the  sufferings  of  a 
loyal  people  and  the  untimely  death  of  more  than  three  hundred  thousand 
of  our  citizens?  What  are  the  lasting  monuments  to  their  services  and  their 
achievements?  Is  it  the  gratitude  of  the  people  that  in  time  will  grow 
weary?  Is  it  the  monuments  that  we  have  erected?  Not  at  all ;  pillars  of 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  49 

stone  and  statues  of  bronze  are  perishable  and  must  in  time  crumble  and 
sink  into  oblivion.  Then  what  are  the  living  monuments  that  will  endure? 
One  is  that  man  now  enjoys  equal  rights  and  j  ustice  before  the  law;  another, 
that  universal  freedom,  education,  security  and  protection  of  life  and 
property  prevail  in  every  section  of  our  country.  A  third  result  is  seen  in 
the  fact  that  those  who  fought  against  us  have  also  equally  enjoyed  the 
fruits  of  our  success,  and  are  now  thoroughly  devoted  to  the  welfare  and 
perpetuity  of  the  Federal  Government,  devoting  their  best  efforts  toward 
maintaining  its  honor  and  integrity,  and  have  even  recently  given  a 
splendid  exhibition  of  their  loyalty  to  and  pride  in  it,  and  of  their  stead- 
fastness in  upholding  the  supremacy  of  its  laws. 

Instead  of  despotism  or  anarchy  we  have  as  a  result  this  indestructible 
and  imperishable  monument  of  patriotism.  We  have  assured  the  exist- 
ence of  this  great  republic  and  of  our  sister  republics  scattered  over  the 
entire  western  hemisphere,  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  extreme  southern 
border  of  South  America.  Liberality,  humanity  and  justice  now,  more 
than  ever,  influence  or  control  the  governments  of  the  civilized  world. 

The  surrender  of  the  armies  of  the  Confederacy  left  the  South  bankrupt 
and  paralyzed,  and  mourning  and  loss  had  come  to  every  household.  But 
it  left  four  millions  of  human  beings  emancipated.  They  were  not  citizens, 
though  no  longer  slaves  under  the  law ;  and  yet  they  possessed  not  land 
enough  to  stand  upon.  It  was  an  immediate  question  what  to  do  with 
that  mass  of  freed  people,  too  great  it  seemed  to  be  assimilated  in  the  body 
politic.  It  was  said  by  some  that  to  give  them  the  right  of  citizenship 
"  would  be  like  placing  the  club  of  Hercules  in  the  hands  of  a  blind  Sam- 
son." The  great  black  problem  which  alarmed  the  people  of  that  section 
of  the  country  then  has  agitated  the  minds  of  the  Southern  people  ever 
since,  and  is  a  grave  problem  even  to-day.  Yet  it  will  work  out  its  own  solu- 
tion. There  is  no  black  blood  being  imported,  and  the  negro  population, 
while  rising  in  the  scale  of  intelligence,  is  spontaneously  scattering  itself 
throughout  the  North  and  West,  in  every  State  and  Territory,  and  the 
problem  is  in  sure  course  of  settlement  in  due  time. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  those  who  had  been  engaged  in  actual  conflict 
in  the  main  buried  their  prejudices  with  the  sword.  Then  was  the  best 
opportunity  the  people  of  the  South  have  ever  had  for  dividing  up  their 
large  plantations  and  disposing  of  them  in  small  portions  to  the  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  enterprising  men,  who  would  have  been  glad  to  pay  for 
them  a  fair  compensation  and  build  their  homes  among  them,  thus 
making  the  land  reserved  even  more  valuable  to  them  than  the  whole  has 


50  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

yet  come  to  be.  Northern  capital  and  Northern  immigration  would  have 
given  to  the  South  greater  prosperity  than  it  ever  had  before.  What 
that  section  needed  was  less  politics,  less  credit,  and  more  solid  capital, 
and  intelligent  labor  with  greater  diversity  of  industries.  It  has  now  by 
fortitude  and  enterprise,  risen  from  the  ashes  of  a  devastating  war  to  a 
place  of  prosperity  and  great  future  promise. 

The  Southern  States  have  for  the  past  few  years  been  inviting  Northern 
and  European  capital,  and  intelligent  immigration.  These,  together  with 
their  own  economy,  enterprise  and  intelligence,  will  in  the  near  future 
develop  the  vast  resources  of  that  interesting  and  valuable  portion  of  our 
country. 

As  an  incident  outside  the  actual  conflict,  at  the  close  of  the  war, 
France  had  an  army  in  Mexico,  a  menace  to  our  institutions  and  system 
of  government.  Our  commerce  had  been  swept  from  the  seas  by  priva- 
teers built  and  manned  in  foreign  ports,  although  at  that  time  we  had 
built  up  the  strongest  navy  afloat.  Some  of  our  statesmen  advocated 
the  formation  of  two  great  armies  composed  of  the  soldiers  of  the  North 
and  the  South,  one  to  be  moved  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  the  other 
marched  to  Canada.  Partly  owing  to  the  enormous  burden  of  an  un- 
precedented debt,  which  furnished  one  of  the  strongest  arguments 
against  such  policy,  partly  because  the  people  had  already  had  so  much 
of  war  that  they  had  become  tired  of  it,  but  mainly  through  the  tragic, 
cruel  and  unfortunate  death  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  a  change  was  worked 
in  the  trend  of  affairs.  Lincoln's  death  at  that  time  was  perhaps  the 
most  unfortunate  event  possible.  He  was  so  kind  hearted,  so  unselfish, 
so  magnanimous,  and  he  so  fully  comprehended  the  condition  of  the  South, 
that  he  would  have  been  able  to  guide  and  direct  it  back  to  a  condi- 
tion of  peace,  prosperity  and  loyalty,  better  than  any  other  man  could 
have  done.  His  life  would  have  been  of  greater  value  to  the  Southern 
people  than  it  could  possibly  have  been  to  the  remainder  of  the  country. 
The  method  of  forming  provisional  governments,  first  tried,  was  soon 
abandoned.  A  bitter  controversy  arose  between  President  Johnson  —  who 
had  been  elected  Vice-President,  and  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln  became 
President  —  and  Congress,  the  final  outcome  of  which  was  a  policy  of 
reconstruction  under  military  direction;  and  whatever  else  may  have 
been  said  in  regard  to  national  matters  at  that  time,  it  has  been 
universally  conceded  that  the  military  commanders  executed  the  re- 
construction laws  with  great  discretion,  judgment,  intelligence  and 
integrity.  The  constitutions  of  the  several  States  were  re-formed,  ap- 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  51 

proved  by  Congress  and  adopted,  and  the  control  of  the  military  was  in 
a  very  short  time  practically  withdrawn,  and  the  States  restored  to  their 
former  status  as  members  of  the  Federal  Union.  The  great  duty  then 
was  the  substitution  of  civil  government  for  military  rule,  and  the  return 
as  speedily  as  possible  to  the  paths  of  peace  and  industrial  achievement. 

The  restoration  of  peace,  fraternity  and  prosperity  in  the  South  enabled 
the  capital  and  enterprise  of  the  people  of  all  older  sections  to  turn  their 
attention  to  the  undeveloped  West  and  reclaim  and  transform  that  vast 
region  into  what  we  find  it  to-day. 

To  return  to  my  own  fortunes,  when  the  volunteer  army  was  disbanded, 
I  was  commissioned  a  Colonel  and  Brevet  Major-General  of  the  United 
States  Army.  In  the  spring  of  1869  I  was  a'ssigned  to  the  command  of  the 
Fifth  United  States  Infantry,  stationed  at  Fort  Hays,  Kansas,  on  what 
was  then  known  as  our  "Western  Frontier."  Thenceforward  I  continued 
to  serve  west  of  the  Missouri  until  the  fall  of  1890,  a  period  of  nearly 
twenty-two  years.  During  this  period  I  have  been  an  interested  witness 
of  the  transformation  and  marvelous  development  of  that  vast  region. 
Within  a  quarter  of  a  century  following  our  great  war  a  new  empire  has 
sprung  into  existence.  What  was  at  one  time  a  vast  desert  plain,  wilder- 
ness and  mountain  waste,  has  been  transformed  into  a  land  of  immeas- 
urable resources,  a  realm  rivaling  in  extent  and  resources  the  empire  of 
the  Caesars.  To  fully  relate  the  story  of  this  achievement  in  civilization, 
this  transformation  of  the  greater  part  of  a  continent,  this  "  battle  of  civ- 
ilization "  as  it  has  not  inaptly  been  called,  would  require  many  volumes 
such  as  this.  The  task  I  have  assigned  myself  is,  therefore,  simply  to 
record  the  more  salient  facts  that  came  within  the  scope  of  my  own 
observation  and  experience. 


52  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  IV. 
OUR  ACQUIRED  TERRITORY. 

COLONIZATION  —  RESULTS    OP    THE    FRENCH    AND    INDIAN    WAR  —  THE    LOUISIANA   PURCHASE  — 
ACQUISITION    OP    TERRITORY    PROM   MEXICO  —  EXPLORATIONS    OP    LEWIS    AND  CLARK  — 
FREMONT'S   EXPLORATIONS  —  SURVEYS   FOR   TRANS-CONTINENTAL  RAILWAYS  —  RE- 
SULTS  OP  THE  WAR  IN  ITS  EFFECT  ON  THE    DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  WEST 
—  CONSTRUCTION     OP     TRANS-CONTINENTAL     RAILWAY  —  RAPID 
SETTLEMENT  OP  THE  WEST  —  PITTSBURQ  —  CHICAGO  — 
ST.  Louis  —  EADS  —  FORT  LEAVENWORTH  —  EMI- 
GRANT TRAINS  —  HUNTING  EXPEDITIONS 
—  THE    DONIPHAN    EXPEDITION. 

OON  after  our  forefathers  had  planted  their  little  colonies 
along  the  Atlantic  Coast,  their  children  ascended  the  Hudson, 
the  Mohawk,  the  Susquehanna,  the  Potomac,  and  other  valleys, 
penetrated  to  the  Ohio,  and  at  length  invaded  "the  dark  and 
bloody  ground"  of  Kentucky,  and  slowly  moved  westward 
along  the  region  of  the  Great  Lakes. 

A  little  later  they  began  to  occupy  the  rich  prairies  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  and  to-day  their  remote  descendants  have 
transformed  the  treeless  plains  of  the  central  West,  and  the  mountain 
valleys  and  gold-fields  of  the  Pacific  slope  and  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains into  busy  and  prosperous  communities.  Long  before  the  day  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  occupation,  adventurers  of  other  races  had  passed  lightly 
over  much  of  what  is  now  the  United  States.  Yet  only  in  a  few  iso- 
lated spots  had  they  left  any  enduring  trace.  Pressing  closely  upon  the 
footsteps  of  the  hunters  and  trappers,  the  Daniel  Boones  of  the  frontier,  the 
American  has  always  founded  homes,  established  schools,  and  organized 
permanent  industries. 

The  favorable  termination  of  the  French  and  Indian  wars,  waged  for 
more  than  two  generations,  gave  the  English  colonists  the  great  lake- 
region  and  northwestern  territory  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  put  an 
end  forever  to  the  Frenchman's  dream  of  empire  in  this  quarter.  The 
Louisiana  purchase  gave  us  a  vast  area  in  the  South  and  West,  while  the 
Texas  revolution  and  the  war  with  Mexico,  gave  us  New  Mexico,  Arizona, 
and  California. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


53 


What  has  long  been  called  our  great  Western  Empire  may  be  roughly 
described  as  including  the  country  lying  from  north  to  south  between  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  and  the  Republic  of  Mexico  ;  and  from  east  to  west 
(with  boundaries  less  definitely  fixed)  between  the 
Missouri  River  and  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

It  is  remarkable  that   when  the   great  Corsi- 
can  had  exhausted  his  treasure  in  the  desolation 
and  destruction  of  homes  in  Europe  to  extend  his 
empire,  he  was  willing  to  dispose  of  his  vast  area  of 
territory  in  North  America  to  the  United  States. 
Seventy-five  million  francs  at  that  time 
was  a  great  boon    to  the   French  con- 
queror, and  one  million  one  hundred  and 
seventy-two  thousand  square  miles  of 
the  territory  of  North  America  was  des- 
tined to  be  a  still  greater  boon  for  the 
millions  of  free   people   who   were   to 
build  prosperous  homes  in  this  then  un- 
explored region. 

The  treasure  exchanged  for  the  land 
purchased  the  equipment  and  munitions 
of  war  that  carried  mourning  and  deso- 
lation to  thousands  of  homes  in  Europe. 
The  territory  received  in  exchange  for 
the  treasure  has  produced  untold  millions  of  homes  in  our  own  country. 

President  Jefferson  and  the  Congress  desired  a  more  perfect  knowl- 
edge of  this  vast  country  acquired  by  what  was  known  as  the  ''  Louisi- 
ana Purchase  "  from  the  French  government,  and  it  was  under  government 
direction  that  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clark  was  projected.  In 
1808,  this  expedition  was  organized  at  St.  Louis  to  explore  a  route  through 
the  unknown  wilderness  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  company  was  composed 
of  nine  young  men  from  Kentucky,  fourteen  soldiers,  two  Canadian  boat- 
men, an  interpreter,  a  hunter,  and  a  negro  servant  of  Captain  Clark's. 

In  the  spring  of  1804  the  villagers  of  St.  Louis  assembled  on  the  bank  of 
the  Mississippi  River  to  bid  adieu  to  the  members  of  this  first  expedition. 
The  history  of  that  exploration  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  ever  writ- 
ten. Their  first  winter  was  spent  with  the  Mandan  Indians  in  what  is 
now  North  Dakota.  Towing  their  boats  for  two  thousand  miles  up 

the  Missouri  River  and   leaving  them  in  charge  of  a  band  of  savage^, 
M— * 


54 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


the  Shoshone  Indians,  they  obtained  from  them  horses  for  crossing  the 
mountains  to  the  head  waters  of  the  great  Columbia,  and  there  built  other 
boats  and  floated  down  the  "Hudson  of  the  West"  to  its  junction  with 
the  Pacific  at  a  point  where  now  stands  the  town  of  Astoria,  and  here 
they  spent  their  second  winter.  In  the  following  spring  they  com- 
menced their  toilsome  return  journey  to  the  upper  Columbia,  where  they 
again  found  their  horses,  safely  cared  for  in  the  interval  by  the  friendly 
Nez  Perces  Indians.  They  continued  their  return  journey  over  the  moun- 
tains to  the  head  waters  of  the  Yellowstone,  passed  down  the  Yellowstone 
and  Missouri  Rivers,  and,  after  two  years  and  four  months  absence,  and 
after  having  been  given  up  as  lost,  they  were  welcomed  home  again  by 
the  villagers  of  St.  Louis. 

In  that  perilous  journey  they  had  met  no  less  than  eighty-five  tribes 
of  Indians,  who  had  never  seen  white  men  before,  and  passed  through  a 
vast  country  of  surpassing  interest  and  inexhaustible  natural  resources. 

A  few  years  later  a  party  sent  out  by  John  Jacob  Astor  for  the  purpose 
of  extending  the  fur  trade  also  crossed  the  continent,  passing  over  a  por- 
tion of  the    route    followed    by    Lewis    and    Clark. 
After  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California,  immigrant 
routes  across  the  continent  were  established,  but  there 
still   remained  vast  regions    between    these   routes 
that  wei'e  almost   unknown   at   a  much  later  date. 
This  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  the  extraordinary 
tract  of  country   now    known   as   Yellowstone 
Park,  so  full  of  natural  wonders,  was  prac- 
tically unknown  until  several  years  after  the 
great  war.     The  same  may  be  said,  as  far  as 
the  general  public  is  concerned,  of  the  Grand 
Canon  of  the  Colorado,  although  Lieutenant 
J.  C.  Ives,  Corps  of  Topographical  Engineers, 
made  a  most  laborious  exploration  of  the 
Colorado  River  in  1857-8  under  the  direction 
of  the  Office  of  Explorations  and  Surveys, 
Captain  A.  A.   Humphreys  in   charge ;  and 
his  reports  and  maps  were  of  great  interest 
and  value. 

While  the  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition 
was  on  its  return  journey,  a  second  important  exploration  was  working 
its  way  to  the  westward.  This  was  under  the  command  of  Zebulon  M. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  55 

Pike,  whose  monument  is  the  mountain  which  bears  his  name,  looking 
out  across  the  plains  from  the  eastern  edge  of  a  world  of  mountains. 

Lieutenant  Pike  was,  as  so  many  of  those  have  been  who  led  the  way 
into  our  western  empire,  a  soldier.  He  was  born  in  the  army,  and  while 
yet  a  boy,  was  an  ensign  in  his  fathers  regiment.  And  as  a  soldier  he 
died.  He  was  killed  while  leading  his  regiment,  the  Fifteenth  Infantry, 
in  the  assault  at  York,  Canada,  April,  1813.  After  the  stir  he  made  in  the 
old  time  when  the  ground  his  mountain  stands  upon  was  not  ours  but 
belonged  to  Spain  ;  after  all  the  charming  narrations  that  have  been 
evolved  out  of  his  adventures,  we  marvel  that  he  died  at  thirty-four,  the 
colonel  of  the  regiment  he  led. 

There  wrere  twenty-three  men  in  this  expedition,  all  told.  They  started 
from  Bellefontaine,  a  location  on  the  Missouri,  fourteen  miles  north  of 
the  city  of  St.  Louis — the  same  locality  which  had  been  the  starting  point 
of  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  the  first  site  of  a  military  post  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi— in  July,  1806.  There  was  then  the  beginning  of  a  dispute  about 
boundaries;  the  same  that  was  ended  by  the  treaty  of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo 
after  the  war  with  Mexico,  while  all  the  scars  were  healed  by  the  Gadsden 
purchase  a  little  later.  Pike's  errand  was  not  entirely  one  of  exploration, 
and  without  question  it  was  desired  to  know  also  how  strong  Spain  was 
along  the  boundary  she  claimed  as  her  northern  limit,  and  which  we  dis- 
puted. 

His  journal  reads  now  like  a  romance.  It  is  of  starved,  frozen,  ragged 
men  wandering  through  a  region  that  is  the  favorite  and  cosy  tourist- 
ground  of  three  generations  later.  His  journey  led  him  westward  through 
what  is  now  the  State  of  Kansas,  through  millions  of  buffaloes,  and  into  the 
foothills  above  what  is  now  the  city  of  Pueblo,  Colorado.  He  first  saw,  far 
away,  the  mountain  that  bears  his  name,  November  15,  1806,  and  it  was  in 
sight  of  his  party  through  their  wanderings  for  more  than  a  month.  He 
did  not  reach  it,  or  name  it  himself,  and  was  finally  captured  while  in  a 
stockade  he  had  built  on  the  Rio  Grande,  thinking  it  the  Eed  River  and 
that  he  was  within  our  acknowledged  territory. 

This  captivity  took  him  a  long  journey  into  Mexico.  It  was  filled  with 
incidents  that  read  strange  now,  and  show  how  little  the  Spaniard  has 
changed  to  the  present  date,  and,  equally,  how  much  we  have  changed 
ourselves.  Pike  was  released  in  July,  1807,  and  was  thanked  by  the  gov- 
ernment for  his  services. 

Long's  expedition  was  also  that  of  a  soldier,  and  he,  too,  is  commemo- 
rated by  a  lofty  mountain  which  bears  his  name.  His  journey  was  made 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


in  1819-20,  with  valuable  results,  but  without  either  the  suffering  or  the 
romance  which  fell  to  the  share  of  Pike.  In  a  following  chapter  I  shall 
dwell  more  particularly  upon  the  beautiful  region  first  examined  by  these 
men  —  Colorado. 

Much  of  the  region  under  consideration  had  been  at  a  comparatively 
early  date  penetrated  by  a  few  men  of  the  Latin  races.  French  traders 
and  missionaries  in  small  parties  had,  from  time  to  time,  entered  the  pres- 
ent States  of  North  and  South  Dakota,  Montana  and  Idaho,  before  the  tide 
of  Anglo-Saxon  immigration  set  in.  They,  however,  made  no  systematic 


exploration.  Their  scattered 
soon  rotted  away.      They 
at  colonization,  and  except 
sions,  and  French  names  for 
ities,  all  trace  of  their  pres- 
The  Spaniard,  Coronado, 
from  the  south  early  in  the 
other  Spanish 
fired  alike  by 
ligion  and  for 
desultory  ex- 
the  territory 
Colorado  and 
erected  here 
arrastras  side 
the  cross,  and 
colonized  por- 
are  now  New 
Arizona.    But 
tion    planted 
;guished,andiu 
even   entirely 


sixteenth 


GENERAL  PIKE. 


trading-posts,  built  of  logs, 
made  no  successful  effort 
for  a  few  picturesque  mis- 
certain  streams  and  local- 
ence  has  disappeared, 
ascended  the  Gila  River 
century,  a  n  d 
adventurers, 
the  zeal  for  re- 
gold,  made 
peditions  into 
that  is   now 
Utah.     They 
and  there rude 
by  side    with 
to  some  extent 
tions  of  what 
Mexico  and 
the    civiliza- 
by  them  Ian- 
some  localities 
disappeared. 


either  from  inherent  weakness  or  encroached  upon  by  the  fierce  savages,  who 
had  become  much  more  formidable  by  the  acquisition  of  firearms  and  horses. 
Santa  Fe,  which  was  a  Spanish  colony  fifty  years  before  the  landing  at 
Jamestown  or  Plymouth  Rock,  remained  a  feeble  village  of  adobe  houses, 
until  in  recent  years  rebuilt  by  American  energy  and  thrift. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  is  preeminently  the  colonizing  race.  From  the  first 
day  of  his  landing  on  the  eastern  shores  of  the  continent  he  has  pressed 
eagerly  and  steadily  forward,  his  eyes  fixed  upon  the  western  horizon, 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  57 

until  his  onward  march  has  been,  for  the  present  at  least,  checked  by  the 
waves  of  the  Pacific. 

That  eminent  statesman,  Senator  Thomas  H.  Benton,  of  Missouri,  for 
years  had  urged  the  construction  of  trans-continental  railway  lines  which 
he  believed  were  destined  to  become  "the  road  to  India."  His  ability  and 
influence  did  much  to  attract  attention  to  the  importance  of  establishing 
at  least  one  great  avenue  of  commerce  and  communication  between  the 
East  and  the  West,  and  it  was  chiefly  through  him  that  the  expeditions  of 
the  '"path-finder"  Fremont,  were  authorized  and  equipped. 

•John  Charles  Fremont  was  a  native  of  Savannah,  Georgia.  He  was  an 
accomplished  officer  and  engineer,  whose  romantic  wooing  and  winning  of 
Jessie  Benton,  now  his  widow,  may  yet  be  remembered  by  those  who  were 
young  at  that  time.  Fremont's  expeditions  were  organized  with  great  care 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas,  or  Kaw  River,  at  Bent's  Fort  on  the  Arkan- 
sas, and  at  various  points  west  of  St.  Louis. 
He  penetrated  the  central  zone,  passing  over 
the  Rocky,  Sierra  Nevada  and  Cascade  Moun- 
tains, and  along  the  entire  Pacific  Coast  from 
the  Columbia  River  to  southern  California. 
He  had  with  him  a  corps  of  scientists,  and  his 
discoveries  were  valuable  contributions  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  times.  His  chief  guide  was 
the  famous  Kit  Carson.  He  had  several  en- 
counters with  hostile  Indians,  and  was  fortu- 
nately in  a  position  to  establish  our  right  of 
domain  at  a  critical  time  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

In  1844  Congress  authorized  the  first  survey 

for  a  trans-continental  railway,  and  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  by  Fre- 
mont at  private  expense  for  the  purpose  of  making  this  preliminary  sur- 
vey. He  wrote  a  history  of  his  explorations  which  attracted  great 
attention,  not  only  in  this  country  but  also  in  Europe. 

The  close  of  the  war  gave  a  great  impetus  to  the  settlement  and  de- 
velopment of  this  region.  The  causes  of  this  impetus  have  already  been 
alluded  to,  and  are  not  far  to  seek.  The  discharge  from  military  service 
of  such  large  bodies  of  men,  mostly  young,  vigorous  and  intelligent,  was  a 
powerful  stimulus  to  every  kind  of  further  achievement,  both  material 
and  intellectual.  The  tremendous  volume  of  energy  and  ability  which 
had  been  engaged  in  mutual  destruction,  when  suddenly  released  found  its 
most  natural  and  congenial  field  of  expansion  in  the  West,  to  which  many 


58  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

thousands  of  the  young  men  from  both  armies  soon  found  their  way.  Before 
the  war,  the  border  troubles  in  Kansas,  and  the  prospect  of  similar  trouble 
in  other  sections,  while  attracting  perhaps  a  certain  class,  might  well  de- 
ter the  peaceful  farmer  seeking  a  home  for  his  family.  That  vexed  question, 
the  source  of  such  bitter  contention,  as  to  whether  free  or  slave  labor 
should  possess  the  virgin  h'elds  of  the  West  was  now  settled  for  all  time. 
The  Homestead  Law  gave  to  each  settler  in  fee-simple  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  laud,  which  to  the  rack-rented  toiler  from  beyond  the  sea 
must  have  seemed  a  princely  estate. 

And  among  the  results  of  the  war  as  connected  with  the  West,  was  the 
acquisition  of  Alaska,  that  magnificent  pendant  to  our  territorial  area.  The 
undisguised  sympathy  shown  to  us  in  our  struggle  by  Russia  aggravated 
the  strained  relations  already  existing  between  that  country  and  Great 
Britain,  while  drawing  still  more  closely  the  bonds  of  friendship  previously 
existing  between  her  and  the  United  States.  Soon  after  the  war,  rather 
than  endanger  these  friendly  relations  by  the  complications  that  seemed 
likely  to  arise  from  the  presence  in  Alaskan  waters  of  our  whalers  and 
fishermen,  and  perhaps  willing  also  to  perform  an  act  showing  her  inde- 
pendence of  Great  Britain,  Russia  departed  from  her  traditional  policy  and 
sold  this  territory  to  our  government  for  $7,200,000.  Within  a  few  years 
after  the  purchase  considerable  American  capital  and  several  thousands  of 
our  citizens  were  engaged  in  the  mines  and  fisheries  of  that  region. 

The  actual  construction  of  a  trans-continental  railway  was  inaugurated 
during  the  war  for  political  reasons.  At  one  time  there  was  apprehension 
lest  California  and  the  Pacific  Coast  should  secede  from  the  Union.  That 
State,  particularly  in  the  Southern  portion,  had  been  largely  settled  and 
dominated  by  men  of  Southern  birth  and  sentiment,  and  in  1861  great 
sympathy  was  manifested  there  with  the  secession  movement.  California 
was,  in  fact,  seriously  in  danger  of  being  lost  to  the  Union  cause,  and  was 
saved  largely  by  the  efforts  and  eloquence  of  Senators  Baker  and  Mac- 
Dougal,  the  Rev.  Starr  King,  Leland  Stanford,  and  their  compatriots,  and 
by  the  timely  action  of  the  Government  in  sending  General  E,  V.  Sumner 
in  1861  to  command  the  Union  forces  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  danger 
that  the  communities  of  the  Pacific  slope,  so  far  from  the  population  of 
the  East,  and  separated  from  it  by  a  vast  tract  of  wilderness,  might  become 
alienated  from  the  Union,  was  plainly  seen  by  the  statesmen  of  that  day, 
and  the  building  of  the  first  trans-continental  line  was  hastened  in  order 
to  establish  a  physical  connection  between  the  Pacific  States  and  the  East- 
ern portion  of  the  republic. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  59 

Since  the  war  many  powerful  States  have  sprung  into  existence,  prac- 
tically six  lines  of  trans-continental  railway  have  been  built,  linking  with 
iron  bands  the  Pacific  States  to  their  sisters  of  the  East,  resources  that 
hitherto  were  undreamed  of  have  been  discovered,  and  a  volume  of  devel- 
opment that  is  marvelous  and  bewildering  to  contemplate,  has  been 
crowded  into  a  quarter  of  a  century,  making  this  the  brightest  period  in 
our  national  history. 

Returning  again  to  my  personal  story,  in  the  spring  of  1869,  having 
been  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Fifth  United  States  Infantry,  with 
headquarters  at  Fort  Hays,  Kansas,  I  bade  adieu  to  the  balmy  atmosphere 
of  the  Carolinas  where  I  had  been  on  duty,  and  traversed  by  way  of  the 
then  most  convenient  railway  route  the  several  intervening  States,  most 
of  them  being  then  seen  by  me  for  the  first  time.  The  battle-torn  fields 
of  Virginia  and  southern  Pennsylvania  were  familiar  enough,  but  beyond 
the  picturesque  Alleghanies  the  scenes  were  new  to  me,  and  presented 
ever-varying  beauties  of  landscape.  Crossing  the  Ohio  at  Pittsburg,  a 
day's  run  through  the  populous  and  thriving  States  of  Ohio  and  Indiana 
with  their  ever-present  woodlands,  extensive  clearings,  charming  villages 
and  busy  manufacturing  centers,  brought  me  to  the  border  of  the  great 
prairie  region  near  that  spot  where  the  immortal  voyageur,  La  Salle,  first 
set  foot  upon  the  domain  of  the  Illinois,  almost  two  hundred  years  before. 
What  a  marvelous  change!  Not  a  vestige  was  now  left  of  the  powerful 
and  warlike  race  he  found  there  except  their  tribal  name.  Where  they 
had  roamed  was  now  a  mighty  State,  the  undisputed  home  of  the  white 
man,  and  one  of  the  great  commonwealths  of  the  richest  and  largest 
agricultural  valley  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  Where  the  smoke  of  their 
signal  fires  had  curled  toward  the  skies  now  stood  "the  school-house  on 
the  hill,"  and  the  church-spire  pointing  to  heaven. 

Following  the  pathway  of  the  "  Course  of  Empire "  still  westward 
another  day  took  me  beyond  the  Mississippi,  across  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri and  the  great  river  which  shares  that  name,  and  I  found  myself 
at  length  at  my  destination  within  the  boundaries  of  the  State  of  Kansas; 
"bleeding  Kansas,"  as  she  was  then  still  termed,  but  now  long  since 
arrived  at  her  imperial  rank  among  the  sisterhood  of  agricultural  States  of 
the  great  Valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

At  that  time  Missouri  was  a  State  of  one  million  seven  hundred  thou- 
sand inhabitants  in  round  numbers.  She  is  possessed  of  boundless  natural 
resources,  and  is  especially  rich  in  mineral  and  agricultural  wealth.  Her 
iron,  coal,  lead  and  zinc  treasures  are  seemingly  exhaustless.  She  is  now 


6(|  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

widely  celebrated  for  her  packing  industries  also,  as  well  as  for  a  wide 
range  of  manufacturing  enterprises  and  industrial  pursuits.  Her  com- 
merce is  very  extensive,  since  a  large  portion  of  the  produce  of  the  north- 
west as  well  as  of  the  supplies  for  that  section  is  borne  upon  the  Missouri 
and  Mississippi  Rivers,  and  over  the  numerous  railroads  of  the  State. 

The  time  of  this  first  journey  of  mine  across  the  central  West  was 
little  more  than  twenty-five  years  ago  at  this  writing.  To  illustrate  the 
unprecedented  growth  to  which  I  have  alluded,  I  may  call  the  attention 
of  the  reader  to  one  or  two  instances  out  of  a  very  large  number. 

The  first  city  after  crossing  the  Alleghanies  was  Pittsburg.  The  last 
previous  census  (1860)  gave  her  a  population  of  49,217.  The  first  fol- 
lowing (1870)  showed  86.076.  She  is  now  a  city  of  nearly  300.000  inhab- 
itants. A  steamer  starting  from  Pittsburg,  450  miles  from  New  York, 
and  2.000  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  .may  sail  the  en- 
tire distance  going,  and  returning,  every  mile  of  it  within  the  great  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  without  once  being  stopped  by  a  government  official,  or  being 
taxed  by  any  tariff. 

Then  came  Chicago.  Her  then  last  census  showed  a  population  of 
109,206 ;  the  next  gave  her  298.977.  Two  years  later  she  was  a  heap 
of  smouldering  ruins  from  which  she  rose  with  astonishing  rapid- 
ity, and  now  boasts  a  population  of  two  millions  in  round  numbers,  a 
growth  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  world.  A  ship  sailing  from 
any  part  of  the  world  may  discharge  its  cargo  at  her  wharves,  a  thousand 
miles  inland.  Her  commercial  success  was  already  widely  spread  at  the 
time  of  my  first  visit,  and  I  regarded  the  city  with  much  interest.  The 
tragedy  of  the  Fort  Dearborn  massacre  was  enacted  on  her  present  site,  at 
as  late  a  date  as  1812. 

Continuing  westward  I  came  to  St.  Louis,  at  that  time  a  city  of  350.0(10 
inhabitants  and  the  great  rival  of  Chicago.  This  interesting  city  Avas 
originally  settled  by  the  French.  The  names  of  many  of  its  oldest  families 
are  French,  and  the  city  still  retains  in  its  social  character  many  of  the 
attributes  of  that  polished  and  pleasure-loving  people.  St.  Louis  was  for  a 
long  period  the  chief  seat  of  the  French  power  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and 
also  of  their  fur  trade,  to  which  it  was  admirably  adapted  by  its  situation  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  the  great  western  tributary  of  the  Mississippi. 
This  river  was  the  natural  thoroughfare  of  commerce  from  the  Mississippi 
to  the  great  fur-bearing  regions  of  the  northwest,  being  navigated  by  flat  boats 
and  other  small  craft,  and.  at  a  later  date,  by  small  stern- wheel  steamers  al- 
most up  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  At  St.  Louis  the  traders  in 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  61 

early  times  met  the  representatives  of  numerous  Indian  tribes  from  the  plains 
and  mountains,  and  at  this  point  caravans  of  hardy  pioneers  were  formed  to 
push  forward  the  ever  advancing  line  of  settlement  still  farther  to  the  West. 

When  I  passed  through  St.  Louis  in  1869  its  great  engineer.  James  B. 
Eads,  had  turned  his  attention  from  the  construction  of  gun-boats  and 
engines  of  war  to  the  construction  of  the  avenues  of  peace.  Disregarding 
the  adverse  opinions  of  other  eminent  engineers  he  had  defied  the  ele- 
ments, and  was  sinking  his  iron  shafts  deep  below  the  waters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  through  the  more  difficult  and  treacherous  stratum  of  quick- 
sands beneath,  to  the  solid  foundation.  His  enterprise  was  afterward 
carried  to  a  successful  conclusion,  and  the  great  arch  that  now  unites  the 
banks  of  the  Father  of  Waters  was  completed  in  the  early  seventies.  His 
later  work,  at  the  mouth  of  the  same  river,  will  add  to  his  high  distinction 
as  an  engineer  of  broad  and  original  conceptions,  and  as  a  far-seeing  and 
public-spirited  American. 

I  arrived  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  near  the  city  of  the  same 
name,  in  April.  This  post  was  established  in  1827  by  the  distinguished 
soldier  of  the  War  of  1812  whose  name  it  perpetuates.  It  was  for  many 
years  the  principal  base  of  military  operations  for  the  vast  country  be- 
tween the  Missouri  River  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  range.  For  many 
years  it  was  the  concentration  point  of  a  number  of  hostile  tribes  of 
Indians,  and  had  its  influence  in  restraining  their  warlike  propensities, 
being  at  that  time  the  extreme  outpost  on  the  western  frontier.  It  is  beauti- 
fully situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Missouri,  about  six  hundred  miles 
above  its  mouth.  Later  it  was  from  this  point  that  the  war  material 
was  shipped  by  wagon-trains  westward  aci'oss  the  plains  to  the  distant 
military  posts  that  were  established  from  time  to  time  for  the  protection 
of  lines  of  communication  and  settlements.  Here  the  escorts  were  made 
up  to  conduct  the  great  transportation  trains  laden  with  supplies  for  the 
troops  engaged  in  protecting  the  pony  express  and  mail  routes.  Thence 
the  exploring  expeditions  were  sent  out  in  the  spring,  and  thither  they 
returned  in  the  autumn.  Here  came  the  young  officers  fresh  from  West 
Point,  and  other  officers  older  in  service,  sometimes  bringing  their  fami- 
lies to  share  with  them  the  pleasures  and  lighten  the  burdens  of  their 
service  on  the  distant  frontier.  While  there  was  much  of  danger,  priva- 
tion and  hardship  incident  to  this  remote  frontier  service,  yet  there  was 
also  much  to  attract  and  interest  the  ambitious  and  enterprising,  and  to 
furnish  as  well  an  occasional  romantic  episode  of  the  service.  When 
larger  garrisons  were  gathered  at  Fort  Leavenworth  it  afforded  an 


62 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


opportunity  for  social  civilities  and  recreation,  as  well  as  the  amusements 
incident  to  refined  society.  The  officers  were,  as  a  rule,  educated  and  in- 
telligent gentlemen,  while  their  wives  and  daughters  were  cultured  and 
gentle,  forming  a  society  refined  in  tone,  but  free  in  great  measure  from 
the  rigid  conventionalities  which  govern  restricted  localities. 

The  great  industrial  interest  at  that  time  in  Leavenworth,  and  also  in 


PIKE'S  PEAK  AS  PIKE  SAW  IT. 

other  growing  cities  of  that  region.  Kansas  City.  Omaha,  and  Council 
Bluffs,  was  the  construction  of  the  two  trans-continental  railway  lines, 
the  Union  Pacific  and  what  was  then  known  as  the  Kansas  Pacific,  after- 
ward a  branch  of  the  Union  Pacific.  Numerous  wagon-trains  of  immi- 
grants were  also  moving  westward,  the  principal  points  of  organization 
and  departure  being  the  towns  above  named.  At  these  points  Bishop 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  63 

Berkeley  might  have  seen  the  most  fitting  illustrations  of  his  words, 
"  Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way." 

Here  were  gathered  each  year  thousands  of  newcomers,  who  with 
their  children  now  swell  the  population  of  our  far  western  States  and 
Territories.  Hunters  and  trappers,  farmers,  men  from  every  walk  in  life, 
every  handicraft,  every  learned  profession,  and  of  every  business  and 
trade ;  patriarchs  with  families  and  beardless  youths,  congregated  in 
great  camps  and  '•outfitted"  for  the  exciting  and  perilous  plunge  into  the 
Western  wilderness.  Here  were  gathered  together  provisions,  arms,  ani- 
mals for  transportation  and  supplies  of  all  sorts,  and  in  these  initial 
camps  were  organized  trains  or  colonies  in  size  and  personnel  to  conform 
to  the  ideas  of  each  individual  and  family.  They  selected  their  own  chief, 
made  their  own  rules  and  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  train  or 
camp;  crossed  the  Missouri  and  journeyed  in  every  direction  over  the 
boundless  plains  and  mountains  of  the  West.  They  traveled  by  ox-teams, 
with  mule  and  horse  trains,  in  the  saddle  and  on  foot,  with  advance  guards 
scouts,  flankers  and  rear  guards,  establishing  each  night  their  outposts, 
pickets,  main-guards,  and  train  guards  with  almost  military  precision. 

From  these  points  many  of  the  great  hunting  expeditions  of  a  later  day 
have  started  and  passed  to  the  plains  and  mountains  beyond.  Sir  George 
Gore,  Sir  John  Garland,  Lord  Adair,  the  Earl  of  Dunraven,  the  Grand 
Duke  Alexis  and  many  others,  organized  parties  here  for  the  exciting 
chase  of  the  buffalo  in  what  was  then  the  great  hunting-ground  of  the 
continent.  It  was  from  these  points  that  the  expedition  of  Captain  Wil- 
liam Marcy,  Fifth  U.  S.  Infantry,  and  George  B.  McClellan,  had  moved  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains  in  1853,  and  the  expedition  of  Captain  John  Pope  of 
the  U.  S.  Engineers  penetrated  to  the  Llano  Estacado  in  1856.  It  was 
through  Council  Bluffs  that  the  little  band  of  Mormons,  under  Brigham 
Young,  passed  over  the  plains  in  1847  destined  in  intention  for  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  but  which  located  permanently  in  the  valley  of  the  Great 
Salt  Lake  in  Utah ;  and  it  was  from  this  point  that  the  expedition  organ- 
ized in  1855  under  command  of  General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  and  marched 
in  1856  against  what  was  then  considered  a  formidable  insurrection  of 
these  same  Mormons.  Many  of  the  important  military  expeditions  were 
also  organized  against  the  plains  Indians  from  what  was  for  many  years  re- 
garded as  our  Western  boundary  of  civilization,  the  Missouri  River.  It  was 
from  a  point  on  this  border-land  that  the  famous  Doniphan  expedition  set 
out  on  its  long  and  brilliantly  successful  march  for  the  conquest  of  New 
Mexico  and  Chihuahua ;  said  to  be  the  longest,  most  successful  and  rapid 
inarch  of  foot-soldiers  in  military  history. 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  V. 

PREHISTORIC    AMERICANS. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  RED  MAX  UNKNOWN  —  THE  "  NEW  "  WORLD  —  THE  TRIBES  THAT  WERE  BEFORE  THE 

IXIIIAN  —  PALEOLITHIC  MAN  IN  AMERICA  —  THE  GLACIAL  EPOCH  —  THE  GALA  VERAS  SKULL  —  THE 

PALEOLITHIC  MAN  OF  EUROPE  —  THE  THREE  KINDS  OF  ANCIENT  AMERICANS  —  THE  MOUND- 

BUILDERS  —  THE  DAY  OF  THE  MAMMOTH  —  PROBLEMS  NUT  YET  SOLVED  —  THE  MOUNDS, 

AND  WHAT  THEY  INDICATE  —  PROFESSOR  PUTNAM'S  DESCRIPTION  OF  MOUND-BUILD- 

ERS OF  OHIO  VALLEY  —  EVIDENCE  OF   A  SUCCESSION   OF  RACES  —  REMAINS  IN 

WISCONSIN  —  USE  OF  COPPER  —  How  THE  MOUND-BUILDER  LIVED  —  His 

NUMBERS  —  ONE  SINGULAR  REMAINING  TRIBE  —  SEATS  OF  His  MIGRA- 

TION —  No  TRADITIONS  OF  COMING  OR  CONQUEST  —  THE  DESTINY  OF 

THE  TRIBES  IN  MODERN  TIMES  —  PROFESSOR  PUTNAM'S  VIEWS. 

N  the  origin  of  the  red  man  history  is  silent,  although  there 
are  ruins  in  America  which  probably  date  backward  to  a  time 
within  five  hundred  years  of  the  foundation  of  Babylon.  Vari- 
ous theories  concerning  the  birthplace  of  the  Indian  race  have 
been  enthusiastically  advocated  at  different  times,  but  only  to 
be  finally  abandoned  ;  and  philosophical  inquiry  through  the 
study  of  languages,  antiquities,  arts,  traditions  and  similar 
methods,  are  our  only  guides  to-day  as  they  were  to  our  fathers  four 
centuries  ago. 

It  is  probable  that  he  whom  we  call  the  Indian,  the  red  man  of 
North  America,  is  not  the  primeval  man  of  the  continent.  America  is 
a  "  new  world  "  only  to  us.  It  is  also  a  very  old  world.  Prehistoric  re- 
mains abound,  and  most  of  these  we  very  dimly  understand  the  meaning 
of.  They  go  far  behind  everything  which  we  call  history,  which,  indeed, 
is  compai'atively  a  very  recent  invention.  There  were  tribes  and  races 
here  long  before  the  Indian  came,  whatever  may  have  been  the  origin  of 
the  latter.  The  oldest  of  his  traditions  tell  nothing  to  him  or  to  us  of 
the  men  whose  place  he  took.  Their  occupancy  ended  ages  ago.  beyond 
remote  tradition,  almost  beyond  inquiry.  But  their  weapons,  mounds 
and  tokens  tell  us  something  of  their  story.  They  made  at  least  a  record 
that  shows  that  they  were  here  —  and  are  long  departed. 

It  is  believed  that  there  was  at  least  one  paleolithic  race  in  America 
before  the  advent  of  the  race  found  here  by  Columbus.  They  were  alike 
busy  in  their  time  in  making  the  only  tools  known  to  human  hands  during 


SITTING    BULL. -SEE  PAGE  212. 


GENERAL  NELSON   A.  MILES.  67 

the  long  ages  of  chipped  flint,  and  these,  both  there  and  here,  they  left 
behind  them;  they  are  almost  or  quite  alike  wherever  found,  so  that  no 
experienced  archaeologist  would  undertake  to  say  whether  an  arrow-head 
came  from  Wisconsin  or  from  some  drift-bank  in  Europe.  Yet  the  times 
in  which  they  respectively  lived  may  have  been  thousands  of  years  apart. 
The  American  Indian  was  himself  of  that  age,  and  knew  nothing  of  smel- 
ting metals  when  the  discoverers  found  him.  So  also  had  his  predecessor, 
the  mound-builder,  lived  and  worked  unknown  ages  before  him. 

In  America  there  was,  as  also  in  northern  Europe,  a  long  period  known 
to  us  now  as  the  "glacial  epoch."  This  vast  thick  sea  of  solid  ice  covered 
a  territory  whose  bounds  are  now  well  known.  When,  in  human  chronol- 
ogy, this  period  was,  no  scientist  precisely  knows.  Professor  Louis 
Agassiz  believed  that  it  was  •'  before  the  dawn  of  the  present  creation." 
Yet  there  are  some  evidences  that  would  indicate  that  the  prehistoric 
American  was  living  then.  If,  in  this  country,  the  paleolithic  age  suc- 
ceeded the  glacial  epoch,  and  he  did  not  come  until  after  the  great  ice- 
sheet  had  melted,  his  residence  dates  back  many  thousand  years.  No  one 
will  probably  ever  even  approximately  know  the  time  of  his  first  coming, 
for  his  stone  implements  are  said  to  be  mixed  with  the  gravel-heaps  that 
were  carried  southward  in  its  mass  and  left  in  wiurows  when  it  melted. 
This  statement,  however  has  been  seriously  questioned. 

When  the  celebrated  "  Calaveras  skull  "was  found  in  California — the 
same  that  is  mentioned  in  one  of  Bret  Harte's  early  ballads  —  Professor 
Whitney  defended  its  genuineness,  and  stated  that  man  had  existed  on  the 
Pacific  Coast  "  prior  to  the  existence  of  the  mastodon  or  the  elephant 
or  the  glacial  period,  and  at  a  time  when  animal  and  vegetable  life  were 
entirely  different  from  what  they  are  now."  This  skull  was  found  at  a 
depth  of  130  feet.  The  skull  itself  gives  contradictory  evidence.  It  is  of 
a  higher  type  than  the  supposed  head  of  the  primeval  man.  Another  cele- 
brated find,  in  Europe,  was  the  Neanderthal  skull,  of  a  very  low  type. 
This  last  has  stood  to  the  world  of  science  as  the  skull  of  the  most  ancient 
of  the  human  race. 

The  European  paleolithic  man  is  thus  described:  He  was  short  of  stat- 
ure and  strong  of  limb.  His  head  was  long  in  proportion  to  its  breadth- 
His  under  jaw  was  square  and  heavy,  his  chin  sloped  backward,  and  he 
had  a  retreating  forehead.  His  skull  was  small  in  front  and  large  behind. 
To  such  a  man  the  Calaveras  skull  did  not  belong.  The  question  whether 
the  American  ancient  man  was  of  a  higher  type  than  his  European 
contemporary,  can  never  be  decided  with  only  these  two  very  ancient  crania 


68 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


PLAN  OP  MorxDS  AT  MARIETTA.  OHIO. 


to  judge  by.  The  only  fact  that  is  certain  beyond  question  is  that,  in 
America  as  in  Europe,  men  lived  at  a  time  almost  inconceivably  ancient, 
and  that  he  whom  we  know  as  the  American  Indian,  is  held  to  be  a  late 
comer;  a  comparatively  modern  man. 

There  are,  besides  the  utterly  unknown  men.  one  of  whom  was  once 
the  owner  of  the  Calaveras  skull,  at  least  three  kinds  of  ancient  Ameri- 
cans: the  cave-dwellers,  the 
cliff-dwellers  and  the  mound- 
builders.  Two  of  these  races, 
the  two  first-named,  had  their 
time  in  Europe  also.  But  the 
last,  the  mound-builder,  may 
be  regarded  as  being  strictly 
American.  All  the  ancient 
Americans  are  named  from  the 
remains  they  left  indicating 
their  mode  of  life.  Those  of 
the  cave-dweller  are  rare,  those 
of  the  cliff-dweller  still  more  numerous,  and  those  of  the  mound-builder  are 
the  most  numerous  and  striking  of  all.  This  man  is  supposed  to  have  been 
the  immediate  predecessor  of  the  Indian.  Many  cliff-dwellings  are  now 
known  in  the  Western  portions  of  the  United  States,  and  have  been  ex- 
plored in  recent  years.  It  is  thought  by  some  that  living  in  chambers  dug 
in  the  soft  strata  of  cliffs,  or  in  caves,  is  much  the  same  thing,  and  that  the 
same  people  practiced  both  at  the  same  time.  Even  if  this  were  true, 
there  was  a  still  older  race  who  are  known  commonly  as  cave-dwellers. 
They  were  here  when  the  mastodon  was.  This  gigantic  beast,  whose  bones 
have  frequently  been  found  in  recent  years,  was  once  a  common  American 
animal,  and  finds  have  been  made  which  strangely  show  his  connection  with 
the  primeval  savages,  who  occupied  what  is  now  the  United  States  at  the 
same  time  he  did.  When  his  huge  bulk  became  mired  in  the  quicksands 
of  some  slough,  they  found  him  there,  and  attacked  him  with  stones,  and 
shot  hundreds  of  flint-tipped  arrows  into  him,  and  finally  built  huge  fires 
around  him,  and  all  these  things  became  known  thousands  of  years  after- 
ward as  plainly  as  though  written  upon  the  pages  of  a  book.  A  case  of 
this  kind  was  found  by  Dr.  Koch,  in  Gasconade  County  in  Missouri,  and 
another  similar  find  was  made  in  Brinton  County  in  the  same  State; 
others  have  been  made  in  Iowa,  Nebraska  and  Ohio.  In  the  museums 
there  are  ancient  pipes  made  in  imitation  of  the  elephant  and  mastodon. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


There  is  reason  for  supposing  that  even  the  mound-builder,  to  whom 
we  shall  presently  come,  knew  the  American  elephant  and  mastodon. 
There  are  no  distinct  lines  between  one  family  of  prehistoric  men  and 
another,  or  between  the  different  epochs  of  prehistoric  ages.  It  is  stated 
at  least,  that  the  mastodon  and  mammoth  with  man,  were  here  before 
the  glacial  epoch.  There  are  no  records  other  than  those  of  remains. 
There  is  no  history  other  than  guesses  and  scientific  deductions.  One 
kind  of  man  or  another  has  from  a  date  unknown  constantly  occupied 
the  soil  upon  which  our  great  modern  civilization  has  grown, 

but  all  are  men  long  ante-         \  dating  all  that  we  call  human 

history.     The  latest  of  these  fa  men   before  the  Indian  as  is 

now    supposed,    was    the    ^  Jy/r^  mound-builder.  Even  he,  leav- 

ing behind  him  innumerable  ff  /jji  evidences    of   his 

presence,  is  a  problem  \v  v8fetes>  n  °  ^    ^ e  ^    solved. 

The    mound-builders  ,,\M*sfe&v  were  most  numer- 


KILLING  THE  MAMMOTH. 

ous  in  the  great  Mississippi  Valley.  This  includes  not  merely  the  act- 
ual valley  of  that  river,  but  a  large  extent  of  country  extending  from 
the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  from  the  Alleghanies  to 
the  borders  of  the  high  plateau  of  the  Western  plains.  The  structures  of 
these  people  are  peculiar,  and  give  the  name  by  which  we  designate 
them.  They  are  totally  unlike  those  of  any  people  who  built  mounds  in 
Europe,  or  even  in  South  America.  They  made  stockades,  fortifications. 


70  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

and  walled  villages.  These  were  solid  and  massive,  and  had  distinctive 
forms  and  often  great  extent.  A  peculiarity  of  their  mounds  is  that 
some  of  them  had  also  a  distinctly  ceremonial  significance.  They  were 
not  hunters  and  wandering  savages,  and  they  filled  a  broad  domain  with  a 
life  peculiar  to  themselves,  using  all  its  varied  resources.  They  traveled 
the  rivers,  farmed,  and  were  permanent  residents  for  a  long  period  of 
time. 

The  immense  number  of  their  structures  is  remarkable.  Ten  thou- 
sand simple  mounds  have  been  found  in  Ohio  alone,  besides  many  hundred 
enclosures  of  a  different  nature.  Their  magnitude  is  equally  surprising. 
One  series  of  works  has  about  twenty  miles  of  well-defined  embankments. 
Walls  are  sometimes  thirty  feet  in  height,  and  enclose  from  fifty  to  four 
hundred  acres.  There  are  pyramids  a  hundred  feet  high  and  covering  six- 
teen acres,  divided  into  wide  terraces  that  are  three  hundred  feet  long  and 
fifty  feet  wide.  Only  the  pyramids  of  Egypt  exceed  these  in  magnitude 
among  the  very  ancient  works  of  men.  There  were  towers  or  lookout 
stations,  made  of  earth,  that  were  sixty  to  ninety  feet  high.  The  variety  of 
these  mounds  is  great  and  their  distribution  very  wide.  Sometime  there 
were  vast  game-drives,  in  which  the  animals  to  be  hunted  were  erected  in 
effigy.  There  were  garden-beds,  covering  hundreds  of  acres,  made  in 
curious  patterns.  There  were  lines  and  groups  of  burial  mounds.  There 
were  village-rings,  dance-rings,  lodge-circles,  hut-rings  and  the  platforms 
of  temples. 

Leaving  out  of  the  discussion  the  disputes  of  the  ethnologists  about 
who  these  mound-builders  really  were,  and  when  they  were,  successive 
occupations,  different  tribes,  etc.,  there  is  still  space  for  only  leading  facts. 
Professor  Putnam  says : 

"In  the  great  Ohio  valley  we  have  found  places  of  contact  and  mixture  of  two  races 
and  have  made  out  much  of  interest,  telling  of  conflict  and  defeat,  of  the  conquered  and 
the  conquerors.  The  long,  narrow-headed  people  of  the  north,  who  can  be  traced  from 
the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic,  extending  down  both  coasts,  and  extending  their  branches  to 
the  interior,  meeting  the  short-headed  southern  race  here  and  there.  .  .  .  After  the 
rivers  cut  their  way  through  the  glacial  gravels,  leaving  great  alluvial  plains  on  their  bor- 
ders, a  race  of  men  with  short,  broad  heads  reached  the  valley  from  the  southwest.  Here 
they  cultivated  the  land,  raised  crops  of  corn  and  vegetables,  and  became  skilled  artisans 
in  stone  and  their  native  metals,  in  shell  and  terra-cotta,  making  weapons,  ornaments 
and  utensils  of  various  kinds.  Here  were  their  places  of  worship.  Here  were  their 
towns,  often  surrounded  by  earth  embankments,  their  fixed  places  for  burning  their  dead, 
their  altars  of  clay,  where  offerings  and  ornaments  by  thousands  were  thrown  upon  the 
fire.  Upon  the  hills  near  by  were  their  places  of  refuge  or  fortified  towns.  Preceding 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  71 

these  were  the  people  of  the  pre-glacial  gravels.  The  implements  which  pre-glacial  men 
have  lost  have  been  found  in  the  Miami  valley,  as  in  the  Delaware  valley.  This  would 
seem  to  give  a  minimum  antiquity  of  man's  existence  in  the  Ohio  valley  of  from  eight  to 
ten  thousand  years.  From  the  time  when  man  was  the  contemporary  of  the  mastodon 
and  mammoth  to  the  settlement  of  the  region  by  our  own  race,  successive  peoples  have 
inhabited  this  valley."* 

There  is  evidence  that  there  was  a  correspondence  or  association  be- 
tween the  mound-builder  and  the  Indian,  notwithstanding  the  lack  of 
any  evidence  of  this  in  Indian  tradition.  Different  classes  of  earthworks 
and  different  tribes  of  Indians  have  been  found  in  districts  whose  bound- 
aries were  remarkably  similar  to  each  other.  There  was,  as  is  now  the 
opinion  of  the  majority,  a  succession  of  races  extending  through  a  long 
period  of  time  before  the  white  man  came.  We  have  the  monuments  of 
the  greatest  of  these,  who  remained  longest,  with  the  works  of  those  who 
imitated  them  or  learned  from  them,  or  were  isolated  and  less  advanced 
tribes  of  the  same  stock.  There  is  a  generally-received  opinion  that  when 
the  Indian  came,  no  one  knows  from  where,  and  perhaps  a  man  unlike 
those  the  discoverers  found  except  in  general  features,  he  found  him  whom 
we  call  the  mound-builder,  and  that  the  latter  was  finally  exterminated  by 
him.  Much  of  this  opinion  is  based  upon  the  supposed  character  of  the 
mound-builder  and  the  known  character  of  the  modern  Indian,  and  the 
remnants  of  the  Pueblo  tribes  of  the  West  are  taken  as  examples  of  the 
same  process. 

Some  of  the  ideas  of  the  mound-builders  are  illustrated  by  the  works 
surveyed  in  modern  times  in  various  localities.  The  State  of  Wisconsin 
abounds  in  emblematic  mounds.  This  variety  is,  however,  confined  to  a 
small  territory  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  State,  a  few  miles  from 
Prairie  du  Chien.  The  mounds  there  are  made  to  resemble  the  birds  and 
animals  found  in  that  country.  Few.  if  any.  animals  are  represented  that 
live  beyond  those  limits.  The  effigies  'are  located  on  hill-tops  overlooking 
the  streams  and  lakes  of  that  country.  There  are  many  species  repre- 
sented. Elk,  moose,  and  all  the  grazing  animals  are  represented  as  feed- 
ing ;  panthers  and  wolves  as  fighting ;  geese,  ducks,  eagles,  hawks,  etc., 
as  flying ;  squirrels,  raccoons  and  foxes  as  running ;  reptiles  as  crawling, 
and  fishes  and  turtles  as  swimming.  All  these  effigies  in  earth  seem  to  have 
been  made  by  a  superstitious  people,  or  to  indicate. totemic  societies. 

In  the  same  State  are  the  copper  mines  that  were  worked  by  the 
mound-builders,  and  some  of  the  tools  they  used  in  them  have  also  been 

•Twenty-second  Report  Peabody  Museum,  page  53. 
M— 5 


72 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


found.  They  are  rude,  but  are  the  implements  of  a  people  who  were  not 
savages.  They  did  not  know  anything  about  mechanical  appliances  such 
as  the  wheel  and  pulley,  and  could  not  make  a  windlass,  yet  they  mined 
the  copper  and  made  out  of  it  knives,  spear-heads,  axes,  chisels,  needles 
and  ornaments. 

Mounds  which  were  used  exclusively  as  graves  are  widely  scattered  and 
almost  innumerable.  Many  of  them  have  been  excavated,  and  so  many 
bones  and  relics  have  been  found  that  we  now  know  tolerably  well  what 
variety  of  man  the  mound-builder  was.  He  was  not  like  the  present 
Indian.  One  of  his  characteristics  was  that  he  was  "prognathous." 

His  front  teeth  came  evenly  together  like 
nippers,  and  not  as  ours  now  do,  those  of 
the  under  jaw  behind  those  of  the  upper 
when  the  mouth  is  closed. 

We  also  know  that  the  mound-builder  in- 
cluded in  his  activities  those  of  the  farmer, 
the  hunter  and  the  warrior.  His  mounds 
illustrate  all  these  occupations.  They  also 
show  in  what  localities  he  had  most  ene- 
mies. In  some  districts  his  defensive  earth- 
works are  more  extensive  and  formidable 
than  those  of  modern  times.  Wherever 
they  were  their  occupation  was  intended  to 
be  permanent,  Like  ourselves,  they  pio- 
neered to  the  westward,  and  their  remains 
west  of  the  Missouri  are  of  a  less  extensive 
and  permanent  character  than  those  further 
to  the  east.  Wherever  they  were  they  adapted  themselves  to  the  country 
and  to  their  surroundings. 

How  many  of  these  people  there  were  is  of  course  a  matter  of  specula- 
tion and  conjecture.  Many  antiquarians  suppose  them  to  have  been  very 
numerous ;  that  there  were  as  many  of  them  as  there  were  white  Ameri- 
cans at  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  Many  theories  are  held, 
with  the  prevailing  opinion  that  they  were  very  numerous,  and  that  they 
developed  the  country,  occupied  it,  and  did  quite  as  well  in  advancement 
as  could  have  been  expected  of  a  people  who  had  no  iron,  and  no  domestic 
animals  except  the  dog. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  there  was  found  here  when  the  white  men 
came,  at  least  one  tribe  that  were  not  North  American  Indians  in  the 


SKULL,  IMAGE  VASES,  AXD  CUPS  OF 

THE  MoUXD-BiriLDERS. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  73 

sense  the  rest  were,  and  whom  many  have  supposed  to  be  the  last  of  the 
mound-builders.  These  were  the  Natchez,  extending  through  the  Gulf 
regions.  They  were  sun-worshippers  and  mound-builders,  differing  in 
many  prominent  respects  from  the  Indians  further  north,  and  even  from 
surrounding  tribes.  Some  of  the  largest  of  their  mounds  are  located  near 
the  city  of  Natchez,  in  Mississippi,  and  a  remnant  of  the  tribe  still  lives  in 
that  region. 

The  sum  of  general  information  about  the  mound-builders  may  be 
stated  very  briefly  as  follows  : 

They  were  the  first  people  to  occupy  the  territory  which  is  now  the 
United  States  after  the  glacial  epoch,  and  were  here  at  least  ten  thousand 
years  ago. 

They  were  widely  extended,  and  numbered  at  least  several  millions. 

They  had  almost  nothing  that  semi-civilized  peoples  now  possess,  yet 
had  at  least  taken  the  first  step  toward  modern  civilization. 

They  were  an  industrious  and  laborious  people,  not  nomads;  and  were 
farmers,  hunters,  fighters. 

They  were  intensely  religious,  but  their  precise  forms  of  faith,  their 
theory,  belief  and  hope  are  all  unknown.  Their  methods  of  expressing 
ideas  of  sacred  or  religious  thought  and  enacting  their  social  and  ceremo- 
nial customs  was  a  complicated  and  toilsome  one,  which  cost  them  an  im- 
mense sum  of  labor  in  the  building  of  emblematic  mounds  and  burial 
tumuli. 

They  cultivated  corn  (maize)  as  their  chief  agricultural  product,  and 
grew  and  smoked  tobacco.  Those  two  products,  with  probably  potatoes, 
to  us  comparatively  new,  are  therefore  to  be  included  among  the  ancient 
necessities  of  mankind. 

There  is  reason  for  believing  that  the  mound-builder  knew  the  American 
mastodon  and  mammoth,  and  they  were  his  prey.  These  huge  beasts  sur- 
vived the  ice-age,  but  it  is  not  known  what  human  being  it  was  that  sur- 
vived it  with  them.  The  re  may  possibly  have  been  a  long  period  intervening 
between  the  end  of  the  glacial  epoch  and  the  appearance  of  the  mound-buil- 
der. It  is,  on  the  other  hand,  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  they  sur- 
vived it  together. 

Where  the  mound-builder  came  from,  when  he  came,  how  long  he 
stayed,  are  facts  absolutely  unknown.  In  these  problems  the  prehistoric 
American  does  not  stand  alone.  Neither  does  any  man  know  who  hewed 
the  stones  of  Baalbeck,  and  the  origin  and  date  of  the  coming  of  our  Amer- 
ican Indian  are  equally  unknown.  We  now  turn  to  the  latter  as  the 


74  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

supposed  successor  of  the  mound-builder.  The  course  of  migration  of  all  the 
aboriginal  tribes  of  the  United  States,  includ- 

ing the  Appalachians.  |||.     the  Cherokees,  the  Iro- 

quois,  the  Dakota  ilT  I'JjETED  li  JK  grouP  of  tribes  and 
many  others,  seems  to  "v  ., .  j&  have  been  from  the 

west.  Prior  to  their  ^H^  crossing  the  Missis- 

sippi it  had  been  gen-  erally  from  the  south. 

It  is  within  the  geographical  area  occupied  by  these  tribes  after  coming 
east  of  this  river,  that  great  numbers  of  American  antiquities  are  found. 

The  famous  Dighton  Rock  inscription  was  at  one  time  ascribed  to  the 
Northmen,  but  now  it  is  believed  to  be  merely  the  record  of  a  battle  be- 
tween two  Indian  tribes.  A  relic  was  found  near  Wheeling,  West  Vir- 
ginia, in  1888,  which  is  believed  to  be  of  a  comparatively  early  period, 
namely  1328.  It  appears  to  corroborate  the  traditions  respecting  a  white 
race,  as  the  Northmen,  in  pre-Columbian  times  in  this  part  of  America. 

The  Skeleton  in  Armor,  the  subject  of  one  of  Longfellow's  famous  bal- 
lads, was  discovered  near  Fall  River  and  was  supposed  to  belong  to  some 
shipwrecked  adventurer,  but  now  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  must  have 
been  a  North  American  Indian,  as  it  had  the  conical  formation  of  the 
skull  peculiar  to  that  race,  and  the  state  of  preservation  of  the  flesh  and 
bones  proved  that  it  could  not  have  been  of  very  ancient  date. 

It  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  the  arts  of  the  aborigines  have  declined 
since  the  introduction  of  European  skill  and  knowledge.  It  was  not 
likely  that  an  Indian  would  continue  to  manufacture  his  earthen  pots, 
or  bows  and  arrows,  when  by  the  exchange  of  a  few  skins  he  could  obtain 
a  brass  kettle  or  a  gun.  The  natives  had  no  skill  in  fusion  ;  they  melted 
no  iron  ;  they  made  no  glass  ;  they  knew  nothing  of  the  potter's  wheel 
or  the  lathe.  By  a  kind  of  hand  loom  they  wove  the  fibers  of  certain 
plants  into  coarse  cloth  for  garments,  and  manufactured  nets  from  rushes, 
and  had  twine  of  their  own  make.  They  employed  fire  for  the  purpose 
of  felling  trees,  as  they  had  only  stone  axes  which  had  not  the  hardness  or 
sharpness  necessary  to  that  work.  With  regard  to  garments,  dressed  skins 
were  their  staple  reliance,  while  their  court  dresses  had  a  mantle  of  soft 
skins  sometimes  covered  with  shining  plates  of  mica.  Their  canoes  were 
of  bark  or  of  wood,  and  their  war  clubs  of  heavy  iron-wood  or  maple. 

The  characteristics  of  the  Indian  as  he  was  when  the  white  men 
found  him  here  will  be  discussed  in  succeeding  chapters.  His  relations 
to  the  tribes  which  preceded  him.  and  which  he  in  his  turn  found  when 
he  came,  can  only  be  conjectured.  All  the  more  ancient  races,  mound- 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


75 


builders,  cliff-dwellers  and  Pueblos,  seem  to  have  been  invaded  by  hordes 
of  wilder  tribes,  who  either  drove  them  from  their  ancient  possessions, 
or  crowded  them,  and  encroached  upon  them  with  a  constant  hostile  pres- 
sure. The  prehistoric  American  did  not  die  out  of  himself.  The  process 
by  which  he  was  finally  shut  up  in  his  cliff -dwellings  or  mound-fortresses,  his 
territory  limited,  his  numbers  decimated,  may  be  studied  in  modern  times 
in  the  final  result  of  the  long  contest  between  the  Pueblo  and  the  Apache. 

The  initial  point  of  the  predatory  migrations  of  these  later  tribes  is 
unknown,  but  according  to  the  latest  investigations  there  seem  to  have 
been  three  centers.  First,  the  valley  of 
the  Columbia,  far  to  the  north,  the  orig- 
inal seat  of  such  tribes  as  the  Coman- 
ches,  Apaches,  etc.  These  crowded 
down  upon  the  cliff-dwellers  and  Pueblos. 
Second,  the  peninsula  between  Lake  Su- 
perior and  Lake  Michigan,  the  home  of 
the  Ojibways  and  Athabascans,  and  of 
the  many  Algonquin  tribes  which  spread 
over  the  entire  region  between  the  Great 
Lakes  and  the  Ohio  River,  and  finally 
drove  the  mound-builders  from  their 
extensive  seats.  Third,  the  region  north 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  where  the 
Iroquois  tribes  seem  to  have  had  their 
permanent  home. 

Supposing  this  theory  of  the  process 
by  which  the  savage  possession  of  the 
territory  now  embraced  in  the  United 
States  changed  hands  to  be  correct,  the  process  of  conquest  occupied  an 
unknown  time;  perhaps  ages.  It  was  a  time  so  long  that  the  Indians 
whom  the  white  men  found  here  had  no  traditions  of  its  beginning,  and 
had  lost  the  record  of  even  its  end.  In  other  words,  they  had  then  been 
so  long  in  exclusive  possession  that  the  remotest  recollection  of  the  original 
contest  had  faded  out  of  tribal  memory.  This  circumstance,  this  lack  of 
any  ancient  tradition,  has  often  been  used  as  an  argument  to  show  that 
Indian  and  mound-builder  had  never  come  into  contact,  and  that  the  lat- 
ter had  gone  before  the  former  came. 

Our  Indian,   strange  in   many  respects,   is  especially   peculiar  in  his 
lack  of  a  history.    He  is  a  man  who  lives  in  the  present,  interested  in  only 


COPPKR  TOOLS  AND  WEAPONS  MADE  BY 

THE  MoVXD-Bl'ILDERS. 


76  PERSONAL    RECOLLECTIONS    OF 

so  much  of  the  past  as  affects  the  present  condition  of  himself  or  his 
tribe.  He  made  no  records  that  were  permanent.  He  built  no  monuments. 
His  habitations  were  ephemeral  in  structure.  Farming  little  and  hunting 
much,  he  was  for  ages  a  wide  wanderer  over  the  primeval  American 
wilderness,  knowing  paths  no  others  knew,  strewing  the  forests  with  the 
ashes  of  his  camp-tires,  going  from  place  to  place  by  an  instinct  which  he 
shared  with  the  birds,  homeless,  yet  everywhere  at  home.  He  knew  how 
to  write  the  picture-writing  which  was  as  plain  to  him  as  ours  is  to  us ;  but 
these  writings  were  made  chiefly  on  the  skins  of  beasts  when  made  at  all, 
and  perished  with  him.  He  left  nature  undisturbed  by  changes,  living  with 
her  as  he  found  her.  The  authenticity  of  every  scratched  rock  or  pictured 
cliff  is  disputed  as  having  been  his  handiwork.  Like  all  savages  he  knew 
nothing  of  history  or  its  value,  and  made  none  to  be  remembered  beyond 
his  own  time. 

In  respect  to  this  unique  character  it  may  be  stated  here,  as  an  end  of 
the  discussion  concerning  him  so  far  as  this  volume  is  concerned,  that  all 
the  investigations  of  the  ethnologists  in  regard  to  his  actual  origin,  who 
he  is,  to  whom  allied,  whence  and  when  he  came,  seem  to  have  been  in 
vain.  A  thousand  theories  have  been  advanced  and  abandoned.  Even  the 
far-reaching  roots  of  human  language  afford  no  guide  further  than  the 
establishing  of  a  relationship  between  tribes  living  far  apart.  It  seems 
almost  a  settled  conclusion  now  that  he  cannot  even  be  considered  a  kins- 
man of  any  of  the  people  who  may  have  crossed  the  narrow  strait  be- 
tween Siberia  and  northwestern  North  America.  Even  the  present  north- 
western aboriginal  is  no  way  like  him  in  look  or  language,  though  in  locality 
the  natural  link  if  the  northwestern  immigration  theory  were  true. 

"  School  men  and  scientists "  says  H.  H.  Bancroft,  the  historian  of 
Native  Races,  "  count  their  theories  by  hundreds,  each  sustaining  some 
pet  conjecture  with  a  logical  clearness  equaled  only  by  the  facility  with 
which  he  demolishes  all  the  rest.  One  proves  their  origin  by  holy  writ; 
another  by  the  writings  of  ancient  philosophers;  another  by  the  sage  say- 
ings of  the  Fathers.  One  discovers  in  them  Phenician  merchants;  another, 
the  ten  lost  tribes  of  Israel.  They  are  tracked  with  equal  certainty  from 
Scandinavia,  from  Ireland,  from  Iceland,  from  Greenland,  across  Behring 
Strait,  across  the  Northern  Pacific,  the  Southern  Pacific,  from  the  Polyne- 
sian Islands,  from  Australia,  from  Africa.  Venturesome  Carthaginians 
were  thrown  upon  the  eastern  shore;  Japanese  junks  on  the  western.  The 
breezes  that  wafted  hither  America's  primogenitors  are  still  blowing,  and 
the  ocean  currents  by  which  they  came  cease  not  yet  to  flow.  The  finely 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


77 


spun  webs  of  logic  by  which  these  fancies  are  maintained  would  prove 
amusing,  did  not  the  profound  earnestness  of  their  respective  advocates 
render  them  ridiculous.  Acosta,  who  studied  the  subject  for  nine  years 
in  Peru,  concludes  that  America  was  the  Ophir  of  Solomon.  Aristotle  re- 
lates that  the  Carthaginians  in  a  voyage  were  carried  to  an  unknown 
island;  whereupon  Florian,  Gomara,  Oviedo.  and  others,  are  satisfied  that 
the  island  was  Espanola.  '  Who  are  these  that  fly  as  a  cloud,'  exclaims 
Esaias,  'or  as  the  doves  to  their  windows?'  Scholastic  sages  answer.  Colum- 
bus is  the  columba  or  dove  here  prophesied,  Alexo  Vanegas  shows  that 
America  was  peopled  by  Carthaginians;  Anahuac  being  but  another  name 
for  Anak.  Besides,  both  nations  practiced  picture-writing;  both  venerated 
fire  and  water,  wore  skins  of  animals,  pierced  the  ears,  ate  dogs,  drank  to 


PRIMITIVE   MAN. 

excess,  telegraphed  by  means  of  fires  on  hills,  wore  all  their  finery  on  going 
to  war,  poisoned  their  arrows,  beat  drums  and  shouted  in  battle.  Garcia 
found  a  man  in  Peru  who  had  seen  a  rock  with  something  very  like  Greek 
letters  engraved  upon  it ;  six  hundred  years  after  the  apotheosis 
of  Hercules,  Coleo  made  a  long  voyage  ;  Homer  knew  of  the  ocean ; 
the  Athenians  waged  war  with  the  inhabitants  of  Atlantis ;  hence  the 
American  Indians  were  Greeks.  Lord  Kingsborough  proves  conclusively 
that  these  same  American  Indians  were  Jews:  because  their  'symbol  of 
innocence'  was  in  the  one  case  a  fawn  and  in  the  other  a  lamb;  because 
of  the  law  of  Moses,  'considered  in  reference  to  the  custom  of  sacrificing 
children,  which  existed  in  Mexico  and  Peru;'  because  'the  fears  of  tumults 
of  the  people,  famine,  pestilence,  and  warlike  invasions,  were  exactly  the 
same  as  those  entertained  by  the  Jews  if  they  failed  in  the  performance  of 


78  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

any  of  their  ritual  observances;'  because  'the  education  of  children  com- 
menced amongst  the  Mexicans,  as  with  the  Jews,  at  an  exceedingly  early 
age;'  because  'beating  with  a  stick  was  a  very  common  punishment 
amongst  the  Jews,'  as  well  as  among  the  Mexicans,  because  the  priesthood 
of  both  nations  'was  hereditary  in  a  certain  family;'  because  both  were 
inclined  to  pay  great  respect  to  lucky  or  unlucky  omens,  such  as  the 
screeching  of  the  owl,  the  sneezing  of  a  person  in  company,  etc..  and 
because  of  a  hundred  other  equally  sound  and  relevant  arguments. 
Analogous  reasoning  to  this  of  Lord  Kingsborough's  was  that  of  the 
Merced  Indians  of  California.  Shortly  after  the  discovery  of  the  Yosemite 
Valley,  tidings  reached  the  settlers  of  Mariposa  that  certain  chiefs  had 
united  with  intent  to  drop  down  from  their  mountain  stronghold  and 
annihilate  them.  To  show  the  Indians  the  uselessness  of  warring  upon 
white  men,  these  chieftains  were  invited  to  visit  the  city  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, where,  from  the  number  and  superiority  of  the  people  that  they 
would  there  behold,  they  should  become  intimidated,  and  thereafter 
maintain  peace.  But,  contrary  to  the  most  reasonable  expectations,  no 
sooner  had  the  dusky  delegates  returned  to  their  home  than  a  council  was 
called,  and  the  assembled  warriors  were  informed  that  they  need  have  no 
fear  of  these  strangers.  'For,' said  the  envoys, 'the  people  of  the  great 
city  of  San  Francisco  are  of  a  different  tribe  from  these  white  settlers  of 
Mariposa.  Their  manners,  their  customs,  their  language,  their  dress,  are 
all  different.  They  wear  black  coats  and  high  hats,  and  are  not  able  to 
walk  along  the  smoothest  path  without  the  aid  of  a  stick.' 

"  There  are  many  advocates  for  an  Asiatic  origin,  both  among  ancient 
and  modern  speculators.  Favorable  winds  and  currents,  the  short 
distance  between  islands,  traditions  both  Chinese  and  Indian  refer  the 
peopling  of  America  to  that  quarter.  Similarity  in  color,  features, 
religion,  reckoning  of  time,  absence  of  a  heavy  beard,  and  innumerable 
other  comparisons,  are  drawn  by  enthusiastic  advocates,  to  support  a 
Mongolian  origin.  The  same  arguments,  in  whole  or  in  part,  are  used  to 
prove  that  America  was  peopled  by  Egyptians,  by  Ethiopians,  by  French, 
English,  Trojans,  Frisians,  Scythians;  and  also  that  different  parts  were 
settled  by  different  peoples.  The  test  of  language  has  been  applied  with 
equal  facility  and  enthusiasm  to  Egyptian,  Jew,  Phoenician,  Carthaginian, 
Spaniard,  Chinese,  Japanese,  and  in  fact  to  nearly  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  A  complete  review  of  theories  and  opinions  concerning  the 
origin  of  the  Indians,  I  propose  to  give  in  another  place;  not  that  intrinsi- 
cally they  are  of  much  value,  except  as  showing  the  different  fancies 


C/D 

a 
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GENERAL  NELSON  A.  .MILES.  81 

of  different  men  and  times.  Fancies,  I  say,  for  modern  scholars,  with 
the  aid  of  all  the  new  revelations  of  science,  do  not  appear  in  their  investi- 
gations to  arrive  one  whit  nearer  an  indubitable  conclusion. 

"It  was  obvious  to  the  Europeans  when  they  first  beheld  the  natives  of 
America,  that  these  were  unlike  the  intellectual  white  skinned  race  of 
Europe,  the  barbarous  blacks  of  Africa,  or  any  nation  of  people  which  they 
had  hitherto  encountered,  yet  were  strikingly  like  each  other.  Into  what- 
soever part  of  the  newly  discovered  lands  they  penetrated,  they  found  a 
people  seemingly  one  in  color,  physiognomy,  customs,  and  in  mental  and 
social  traits.  Their  vestiges  of  antiquity  and  their  languages  presented  a 
coincidence  which  was  generally  observed  by  early  travelers.  Hence 
physical  and  physiological  comparisons  are  advanced  to  prove  ethnological 
resemblances  among  all  the  peoples  of  America,  and  that  they  meanwhile 
possess  common  peculiarities  totally  distinct  from  the  nations  of  the  old 
world.  Morton  and  his  confreres,  the  originators  of  the  American  homo- 
geneity theory,  even  go  so  far  as  to  claim  for  the  American  man  an  origin 
as  indigenous  as  that  of  the  fauna  and  flora.  They  classify  all  the  tribes 
of  America,  excepting  only  the  Eskimos  who  wandered  over  from  Asia,  as 
the  American  race,  and  divide  it  into  the  American  family  and  the 
Toltecan  family.  Blumenbach  classifies  the  Americans  as  a  distinct 
species.  The  American  Mongolidi=e  of  Dr.  Latham  are  divided  into 
Eskimos  and  American  Indians.  Dr.  Morton  perceives  the  same  charac- 
teristics and  lineaments  in  the  face  of  the  Fuegian  and  the  Mexican,  and 
in  tribes  inhabiting  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and 
Florida.  The  same  osteological  structure,  swarthy  color,  straight  hair, 
meagre  beard,  obliquely  cornered  eyes,  prominent  cheek  bones,  and  thick 
lips  are  common  to  them  all.  Dr.  Latham  describes  his  American 
Mongolidas  as  exercising  upon  the  world  a  material  rather  than  a  moral 
influence;  giving  them  meanwhile  a  color,  neither  a  true  white  nor  a  jet 
black;  hair  straight  and  black,  rarely  light,  sometimes  curly;  eyes 
sometimes  oblique;  a  broad,  flat  face  and  retreating  forehead.  Dr. 
Prichard  considers  the  American  raco  psychologically,  as  neither  superior 
nor  inferior  to  other  primitive  races  of  the  world.  Bory  do  St.  Vincent 
classifies  Americans  into  five  species,  including  the  Eskimos.  The 
Mexicans  he  considers  as  cognate  with  the  Malays.  Humboldt  charac- 
terizes the  nations  of  America  as  one  race,  by  their  straight,  glossy  hair, 
thin  beard,  swarthy  complexion,  and  cranial  formation.  Schoolcraft 
makes  four  groups:  the  first  extending  across  the  northern  end  of  the 
continent;  the  second,  tribes  living  east  of  the  Mississippi;  the  third,  those 


82  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Rocky  Mountains;  and  the  fourth,  those 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  All  these  he  subdivides  into  thirty-seven 
families;  but  as  far  as  those  on  the  Pacific  Coast  are  concerned,  he  might 
as  reasonably  have  made  of  them  twice  or  half  the  number. 

"  All  writers  agree  in  giving  to  the  nations  of  America  a  remote 
antiquity;  all  admit  that  there  exists  a  greater  uniformity  between  them 
than  is  to  be  found  in  the  old  world;  many  deny  that  all  are  one  race. 
There  is  undoubtedly  a  prevailing  uniformity  in  those  physical  character- 
istics which  govern  classification;  but  this  uniformity  goes  as  far  to  prove 
one  universal  race  throughout  the  world,  as  it  does  to  prove  a  race 
peculiar  to  America.  Traditions,  ruins,  moral  and  physical  peculiarities, 
all  denote  for  Americans  a  remote  antiquity.  The  action  of  a  climate 
peculiar  to  America,  and  of  natural  surroundings  common  to  all  the  peo- 
ple of  the  continent,  could  not  fail  to  produce  in  time  a  similarity  of 
physiological  structure." 

The  subject  of  The  Historic  American  is  one  whose  adequate  treatment 
would  much  more  than  h'll  an  entire  volume  such  as  this,  and  I  have 
attempted  here  nothing  more  than  an  outline.  So  far  as  the  ethnology  of 
the  subject  is  concerned,  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Professor  F.  W. 
Putnam,  the  eminent  scientist  and  Curator  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of 
Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  Harvard  University,  and  who  had  charge  of 
the  Department  of  Ethnology  at  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  for 
the  following  general  statement  of  his  views  in  relation  to  the  early 
peoples  of  America,  and  to  the  origin  of  the  Indian  tribes. 

Professor  Putnam  says  :  "From  time  to  time  evidence  has  been  brought 
forward  relating  to  the  antiquity  of  man  in  North  America,  and  this  ques- 
tion has  been  earnestly  and  even  passionately  discussed.  Placing  personal 
prejudice  aside,  it  seems  now  unreasonable  to  doubt  the  facts  that  have 
accumulated  in  evidence  of  the  existence  of  man  on  the  Pacific  Coast  at 
the  time  of  the  deposition  of  the  auriferous  gravels  of  California,  and  on 
the  Atlantic  Coast  as  early,  at  least,  as  the  time  of  the  reassortment  of  the 
earlier  glacial  gravels.  The  discovery  of  portions  of  his  skeleton  as  well  as 
specimens  of  his  handiwork,  under  geological  conditions  that  we  must 
accept,  as  surely  associates  him  with  these  early  times  as  the  finding  of 
bones  of  animals  in  the  same  formations  proves  the  contemporaneity  of  the 
animals  with  the  same  gravel  deposits.  On  the  Atlantic  slope  the  masto- 
don was  man's  contemporary  and  the  arctic  animals  roved  far  south  of 
their  present  habitat.  Struggling  for  existence  in  a  rigorous  climate,  man 
made  slow  advances  ;  and  his  development  and  culture  correspond  with  the 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  83 

status  of  the  River  Drift  man  in  the  Old  World  with  whom  he  may  well 
have  been  closely  allied. 

On  the  Pacific  slope,  in  this  early  time,  man  was  living  under  far  better 
climatic  conditions,  and  his  environment  was  more  conducive  to  the 
development  of  the  primitive  arts.  It  is,  therefore,  probable  that  he  there 
reached  a  neolithic  *  period  of  culture  a  long  time  before  his  less  fortunate 
contemporary  of  the  Atlantic  Coast. 

If  we  may  judge  from  the  few  human  bones  found  on  each  side  of  the 
continent,  under  these  geological  conditions,  there  was  a  marked  physical 
difference  between  the  early  man  of  the  Pacific  and  of  the  Atlantic  slopes. 
On  the  Pacific  he  was  of  average  stature  and  probably  of  a  dolichocephalic 
or  long-headed  type;  while  on  the  Atlantic  he  was  of  smaller  stature  and 
of  slight  dolichocephalism. 

The  early  migrations  of  man  over  North  America  are  largely  conjec- 
tural; while  the  time  of  his  first  appearance  here  is  still  more  involved  in 
doubt.  If  man  originated  at  one  spot  on  the  earth  and  migrated  thence 
to  nearly  all  portions  of  its  surface,  and  gradually  developed  into  several 
marked  varieties  differing  in  bony  structure,  proportions,  color,  hair  and 
mental  traits,  owing  to  his  environments,  and  thereafter  each  variety  held 
its  own  characteristics, — the  time  necessary  for  all  this  to  take  place  seems 
to  be  so  great  as  to  throw  man's  origin  back  to  a  geological  period  earlier 
than  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  beings  with  human  characteristics 
existed.  On  the  other  hand  if  an  ancestral  form  produced  man  in  one 
place,  why  should  not  the  same  result  occur  in  another  place — and  if  in 
one  why  not  in  several  instances;  then  the  distinctive  characters  of  the 
species  of  man  are  established,  and  all  else  can  be  easily  accounted  for  by 
environment  and  crossing,  in  the  time  allowed  since  pliocene!  days. 

However  or  wherever  man  originated,  it  seems  impossible  to  believe 
that  America  could  have  been  peopled  by  only  one  race  or  variety,  if 
physical  characters  combined  with  mental  traits  are  of  any  value  in 
classification.  The  earliest  man  on  the  Atlantic  differs  from  the  earliest 
man  we  know  on  the  Pacific.  These  differences  correspond  with  those 
between  the  early  peoples  of  other  continents.  There  are  strong  reasons 
for  believing  that  America  received  immigrants  from  both  Europe  and 
Asia  in  early  times,  and  again  from  Asia  in  later  times;  and  probably  from 
North  Africa  by  way  of  the  Canary  Islands  at  an  early  period. 

*The  neolithic  period  of  culture  is  one  grade  beyond  the  pal&olithir,  both  pertaining  to  the  stone  age  of  man's 
development.  The  first  is  the  rough-stone  period,  the  last  the  period  of  the  finished,  or  polished  stone  implement. 

^Pliocene,  a  geological  period  so  named  from  its  fossils,  among  which  are  found  the  earliest  evidences  of 
animal  life  on  land. 


84 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


We  must  remember,  however,  that  many  anthropologists  regard  all 
men  as  having  one  origin,  and  hence  believe  that  all  peoples  on  the  Amer- 
ican continent  are  of  a  single  differenti- 
ated variety  of  man.  For  a  working 
hypothesis,  the  theory  of  the  several  dis- 
tinct origins  of  man  has  many  advantages. 
All  opponents  to  successive  immigration 
must  necessarily  admit  a  very  early  palaeo- 
lithic immigration, or  else  an  autochthon- 
ous origin  for  man  in  America.  If  an 
early  immigration,  why  not  later  ones 
after  the  supposed  continental  connections 
had  ceased  to  exist  and  man  was  capable 

FIRE-MAKIXG  BY  THE  PRE-HISTORIC  MAX.         of    m0ving    from   place  to    place  with    the 

aid  of  boats?  In  this  connection  the  recent  paper  by  Professor  Otis  T. 
Mason  is  most  suggestive. 

Let  us  ask  ourselves  the  simple  questions:  Why  it  is  that  dolichocephal- 
ism*  prevailed  over  northern,  eastern  and  portions  of  western  North 
America,  while  brachycephalism  §  prevailed  over  the  southern  and  south- 
western portions?  Why  is  it  that  the  early  peoples  of  the  south  and  south- 
west— the  old  Mexicans,  the  old  Pueblo  peoples  and  cliff-dwellers,  and  the 
old  earth-work  builders  of  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  Valleys — are  not  only 
brachycephalic  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  but  also  differ  so  markedly  in 
their  mental  traits  from  the  dolichocephalic  peoples  of  the  north? 

These  prominent  differences  are  probably  racial,  while  environment 
has  unquestionably  caused  and  preserved  many  modifications.  Still  the 
long-heads  of  the  north  had  as  good  opportunities  to  advance  if  they  had 
possessed  the  primary  characteristics  for  a  corresponding  independent  de- 
velopment. When  groups  of  them  came  in  contact  with  the  tribes  farther 
advanced,  they  showed  themselves  capable  of  receiving  and  absorbing  a 
certain  amount  of  culture  which  they  added  to  their  own ;  but  it  was  only 
by  this  contact.  Left  to  themselves  their  development  would  naturally 
have  been  on  different  lines,  which,  in  fact,  have  in  great  part  been  fol- 
lowed. 

In  studying  the  characteristics  of  each  people,  the  archaeologist  must 
ever  be  on  the  watch  for  elements  showing  this  contact  of  people  with 
people  in  past  times.  Again,  the  special  characteristics  of  a  people  must 

'Dolichocephalic.  Long-headed.  A  term  applied  to  races  having  heads  the  diameter  of  which  from  side  to 
side  is  small  compared  to  that  from  front  to  liack. 

^Brachycephalic.    Having  heads  more  nearly  round,  like  the  Caucasian  head. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  85 

be  distinguished  from  the  primary  characteristics,  arts  and  institutions  of 
association,  that  all  human  beings   have  common  to  their  humanity - 
their  generic  characteristics. 

It,  therefore,  seems  that  the  peoples  of  North  America,  known  to  history, 
were  composed  of  the  descendants  of  the  early  man  of  the  Pacific  slope, 
the  early  man  of  the  Atlantic  slope,  the  ancestors  of  the  Caribs  of  the  south- 
east, the  early  brachycephalic  people  of  the  southwest,  and,  in  all  prob- 
ability, immigrants  from  Asia  at  a  later  time.  The  brachycephalic  branch 
probably  had  its  origin  in  Asia.  The  dolichocephalic  branch  may  have 
come  in  the  earliest  period  either  from  Europe  or  Asia  or  from  both  con- 
tinents. If  from  Europe,  it  must  have  crossed  the  continent  of  America 
in  exceedingly  remote  times  with  a  return  migration  to  the  east,  after  the 
glacial  period.  There  is  evidence  of  a  western  culture  coming  to  the  east, 
since  it  was  on  the  Pacific  side  of  the  continent  that  the  greatest  advance 
in  the  primitive  arts  and  culture  was  made  in  ancient  times. 

During  the  early  migrations  over  the  continent  it  seems  probable  that 
the  people  of  the  Pacific  Coast  wandered  northward  and  eastward,  forming 
tribe  after  tribe,  as  isolation  of  small  groups  took  place.  As  time  passed 
on.  peculiar  customs,  arts  and  languages  were  developed  by  the  new  con- 
ditions of  life.  Some  of  these  groups  formed  settlements  on  the  northern 
Pacific  Coast  to  which  were  probably  added  immigrants  from  Asia.  As 
time  went  on,  group  after  group  became  separated  and  pushed  eastward 
and  southward  when  led  by  geographical  conditions  and  the  supply  of 
food,  or  when  forced  by  enemies.  In  course  of  time  one  group  reached  the 
Atlantic  Coast  and  probably  came  in  contact  with  the  small  palaeolithic 
man  of  the  east ;  while  others  were  forced  to  the  north,  where  by  environ- 
ment and  isolation  the  tribes  of  eastern  Eskimo  were  formed.  A  similar 
pushing  of  groups  to  the  north  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  the  following  of 
peculiar  food  supplies,  may  have  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  western 
Eskimo.  In  the  east,  the  long-headed  peoples  stretched  southward  along 
the  coast  and  westward  into  the  interior  along  the  rivers  until  they  came 
in  contact  with  the  advancing  short-heads  of  the  southwest.  In  the  great 
region  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Valleys  the  mixture  of  the  two  races  is 
apparent;  and  there  must  have  been  a  long  contest  between  the  more  cul- 
tured and  -sedentary  tribes  who  built  the  old  earthworks,  and  the  savage 
and  nomadic  warriors  from  the  north  who  in  time  took  possession  of  the 
fertile  valleys.  During  this  period  of  contact  and  crossing  of  the  two 
acres,  the  more  savage  learned  of  the  arts  and  culture  of  the  other.  Some 
of  these  arts  and  customs  have  come  down  to  the  present  time  and  have 


86 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


spread  from  their  source  until  they  have  become  the  common  inheritance 
of  now  widely  separated  tribes.  In  the  south  and  southwest,  brachy- 
cephalism  prevailed,  while  at  the  north  and  northeast  dolichocephalism 
maintained  its  ascendency.  In  the  central  region  and  particularly  in  the 
Ohio  Valley  a  mixture  of  the  two  types  is  shown  by  the  mesaticephalic  or 
medium  skulls  which  prevail  in  the  burial  places  of  the  tribes  whose  de- 
scendants the  white  race  drove  from  the  region." 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  87 


CHAPTER  VI. 
INDIAN   CHARACTER. 

INDIAN  CHARACTER  —  INDIAN  STUDIES   OF   GEORGE   CATLIX,  PARKMAX,  SCHOOLCRAFT  AND  OTHER* 
—  THE     ORIGINAL   NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIAN,   GEXTLE,  HOSPITABLE   AND    KINDLY'    DIS- 
POSED   TOWARD   THE  NEWCOMERS  —  CAUSES    OF  THE  CHANGE    IN    INDIAN    CHAR- 
ACTER —  ENGLISH,     FRENCH,     GERMAN     AND     SPANISH      COLONIZATION 
SCHEMES  —  INDIAN     WARS  —  BENJAMIN     FRANKLIN     ox     THE 
INDIAN  —  MARQUETTE'S  RECEPTION  BEYOND  THE  MISSIS- 
SIPPI —  HALLECK'S    STANZAS    ON    RED    JACKET. 

Vj)  HE  official  reports  and  literature  regarding  the  aborigines  of 
this  country  during  the  past  four  hundred  years  have  been  so 
voluminous  that  the  future  historian  will  have  ample  material 
for  portraying  the  character  of  that  race  as  civilization  has 
known  it  during  the  period.  But  their  true  history  cannot  be 
written  until  the  prejudices  engendered  by  hundreds  of  years 
of  race  war  have,  to  a  great  extent,  been  obliterated.  It  is 
not  my  purpose  to  write  a  history  of  that  race,  but  only  to 
contribute  a  chapter,  in  part  my  own  observations  of  the  Indians,  and  in 
part  to  give  the  testimony  of  others  concerning  them. 

Among  the  authorities,  the  writings  and  illustrations  of  George  Catlin 
are  entitled  to  a  high  rank  in  point  of  accuracy  and  attention  to  detail. 
Catlin  was  ambitious  to  be  the  historian  of  a  departed  race.  The  inspira- 
tion came  to  him  on  seeing  a  delegation  of  stalwart  Indians  on  their  visit 
to  the  national  capital.  They  made  a  marked  and  lasting  impression  upon 
his  artistic  eye,  and  in  1832  he  went  west,  ascending  the  Missouri  River  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  and  took  up  his  abode  among  the  Indians, 
of  that  region.  During  the  succeeding  eight  years  he  visited  nearly  half 
a  hundred  different  tribes,  and  collected  much  information  concerning 
their  habits  and  character.  In  the  early  forties  he  returned  to  civilization 
and  gave  to  the  world  a  very  excellent  account  of  the  tribes  with  which 
he  had  come  in  contact.  I  may  also  instance  Washington  Irving's  work, 
''The  Rocky  Mountains,  or  Adventures  in  the  Far  West,"  as  presenting 
trustworthy  information ;  also  Schoolcraft,  and  numerous  other  works 
treating  of  Indian  history  and  character  in  earlier  times. 


88  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

Parkman,  who  has  made  the  subject  a  life  work,  has  given  us  many 
volumes  of  interesting  and  valuable  information  concerning  the  original 
inhabitants  and  the  early  occupation  of  the  country  by  the  Europeans. 
McKinney's  and  Hall's  works  are  valuable  and  interesting. 

To  the  civilized  man  of  to-day  the  idea  of  human  torture  is  abhorrent, 
whether  prompted  by  bigotry,  race  hatred,  or  superstition,  and  the  extreme 
cruelty  sometimes  shown  by  the  Indian  has  been  dwelt  upon  as  a  peculiarly 
inherent  trait  of  his  nature :  and  he  has  been  condemned  as  a  malignant 
fiend,  incapable  of  the  better  impulses  of  humanity  and  unworthy  of 
admission  to  the  brotherhood  of  man.  I  have  no  sympathy  with  this 
view,  which  has  been  crystalized  into  the  brutal  epigram,  falsely  at- 
tributed to  General  Sherman,  "  The  only  good  Indian  is  a  dead  Indian."  I 
hope  before  I  am  through  with  this  work,  I  shall  be  able  to  show  that  much 
that  is  good  may  be  said  of  the  Indian.  I  shall  speak  of  him  as  a  diplomatist, 
a  statesman  and  a  warrior.  I  shall,  to  some  extent,  describe  his  industries, 
his  games,  his  music  and  his  art,  for  there  is  much  of  art  in  the  Indian's 
decorations,  his  blending  of  colors,  his  pottery,  his  feather  work,  and  his 
bead,  basket  and  blanket  work.  It  is  a  singular  thing,  but  long  since 
noted  as  a  fact,  that  the  more  cultivated  a  people,  the  more  intricate  is 
their  music  and  the  more  simple  their  colors,  especially  in  dress ;  or.  con- 
versely, the  more  primitive  and  unenlightened  they  are.  the  simpler  is 
their  music,  and  the  more  complicated  or  extravagant  their  coloring. 

It  will  not  be  without  interest  to  note  somewhat  briefly  the  condition 
of  the  races  found  here  by  Columbus  and  the  early  explorers. 

The  first  and,  in  view  of  the  savage  character  now  generally  attributed 
to  him,  most  striking  fact  to  be  noted  of  the  American  Indian  before  he 
degenerated  through  contact  with  the  white  man,  and  anterior  to  the 
race  war  that  was  waged  for  centuries  before  his  final  overthrow,  was 
the  dignity,  hospitality  and  gentleness  of  his  demeanor  toward  strangers 
and  toward  his  fellow  savages  ;  his  cordial  welcome  of  the  newcomers  to 
his  shores  and  home. 

What  was  it  that  changed  all  this  and  caused  that  race  war,  so  relent- 
lessly prosecuted  and  so  heroically  contested  to  the  bitter  end?  Not 
entirely  treachery  on  the  part  of  the  Indian,  but  also  the  inexorable 
needs  of  a  higher  civilization,  too  often  in  haughty  contempt  pushing  its 
conquests  and  gratifying  its  desires  regardless  of  justice,  plighted  faith, 
and  the  finer  and  purer  instincts  and  emotions  that  actuate  and 
move  the  best  elements  of  our  nature.  All  accounts  agree  that 
the  first  voyagers  and  explorers  found  the  natives  ''simple,"  "hospitable," 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  89 

and  "  friendly."  Soon,  however,  they  learned  to  fear  and  distrust 
the  strangers,  who  took  every  advantage  of  their  ignorance  and  kindness. 
Enticed  on  board  their  vessels  they  were  seized  and  carried  away  from 
their  native  lands  to  be  put  on  exhibition  or  sold  into  perpetual  slavery 
beyond  the  seas.  Columbus  himself  initiated  this  wrong.  Sebastian  Cabot 
carried  his  quota  to  England,  and  Captain  Aubert  his  to  France.  It  may 
be  not  uninteresting  to  cite  a  few  instances  from  the  records,  both  early 
and  recent,  to  illustrate  more  fully  this  too  generally  unrecognized  fact. 

Upon  his  first  arrival  Columbus  wrote  of  the  natives:  "  We  found  them 
timid,  and  full  of  fear,  very  simple  and  honest,  and  exceedingly  liberal, 
none  of  them  refusing  anything  he  may  possess  when  asked  for  it."  Yet 
he  took  some  of  them  by  force  and  carried  them  to  Spain.  These,  how- 
ever, were  not  Indians  as  we  use  the  term,  but  Caribs,  the  milder  race 
found  on  the  West  Indian  Islands. 

Gaspar  Cortereal,  a  mariner  in  the  service  of  the  king  of  Portugal, 
ranged  the  coast  in  1501  as  far  as  the  fifteenth  parallel,  admiring  the 
brilliant  verdure  and  dense  forests  wherever  he  landed.  He  repaid  the 
hospitality  with  which  he  was  everywhere  received  by  the  natives  by 
taking  with  him  on  his  return  fifty-seven  of  them,  whom  he  had  treach- 
erously enticed  on, heard  his  ship,  and  selling  them  into  slavery. 

An  Italian  mariner  in  the  service  of  the  king  of  France  in  1524  sailed 
along  the  coast  from  abouf^the  latitude  of  Washington  to  that  of  New- 
port, and  his  narrative  furnishes  the  earliest  description  of  that  portion 
of  the  Atlantic  Coast.  He  describes  the  natives  as  very  "  courteous  "  and 
"  gentle,"  but  as  mild  and.  feeble,  though  "  possessing  prompt  wit,  with 
delicate  limbs  and  handsome  visages."  Seeing  many  fires  ashore,  and 
the  natives  friendly,  he  sent  his  boat  to  them,  but  the  surf  was  too  vio- 
lent to  permit  of  landing.  One  of  the  sailors  offered  to  swim  ashore  with 
some  presents  ;  but  when  he  came  near  his  fears  prevailed,  and,  throw- 
ing out  his  presents,  he  attempted  to  return  to  the  ship,  but  the  waves 
cast  him  on  the  sand,  half  dead  and  quite  senseless.  The  Indians  imme- 
diately ran  to  his  assistance,  carried  him  ashore,  dried  his  clothes  before 
a  fire,  and  did  everything  to  restore  him.  His  alarm,  however,  was  ex- 
cessive. When  they  pulled  off  his  clothes  to  dry  them,  he  thought  they 
meant  to  sacrifice  him  to  the  sun,  which  then  shone  brightly  in  the 
heavens.  He  trembled  with  fear.  As  soon  as  he  was  restored  they 
gently  led  him  to  the  shore,  and  then  retired  to  a  distance  until  the  ship's 
boat  had  been  sent  for  him,  and  they  saw  him  safely  on  board.  In  re- 
quital of  this  kindness,  the  visitors  robbed  a  mother  of  her  child,  and 

M— 6 


90  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

attempted  to  kidnap  a  young  woman  "  of  tall  stature  and  very  beautiful." 
Her  outcries  and  vigorous  resistance  saved  her. 

In  the  year  1534,  Jacques  Cartier  sailed  from  France  to  the  region  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the 
French  king.  The  natives  were  very  friendly  and  took  great  pains  to 
show  it  "by  rubbing  their  hands  upon  the  arms  of  the  European  visitors, 
and  lifting  them  up  toward  the  heavens,"  and  in  other  ways.  Cartier 
carried  off  some  of  the  natives,  but  as  he  was  to  return  the  next  year  he 
treated  them  well  and  trained  them  to  act  as  interpreters. 

In  a  second  voyage,  made  the  following  year,  ascending  the  St.  Lawrence, 
he  visited  the  native  villages  of  Stadacona,  now  Quebec,  and  Hochelaga, 
the  modern  Montreal.  Viewing  the  white  men  as  heavenly  visitors,  the 
Indians  crowded  around  them  to  touch  them,  paying  them  every  mark  of 
reverence  and  respect.  They  brought  to  Cartier  their  lame,  blind,  diseased 
and  impotent  to  be  healed  ;  and  he  gratified  their  desires,  "  praying  to  God 
to  open  the  hearts  of  these  poor  people  that  they  might  be  converted." 
The  interview  closed  with  his  giving  them  knives,  beads  and  toys.  When 
he  was  about  to  sail,  he  enticed  the  chief,  Donnaconna,  with  nine  others 
on  board  his  ship,  seized  and  confined  them,  and,  regardless  of  the  cries 
and  entreaties  of  their  people  carried  them  to  France.  Four  years  later 
all  these,  excepting  one  little  girl,  were  dead. 

A  typical  case  is  related  by  Captain  John  Smith,  the  hero  of  colonial 
Virginia. 

"  One  Thomas  Hunt,  the  master  of  this  ship,  when  I  was  gone  betrayed  four  and  twenty 
of  these  poor  savages  aboard  his  ship,  and  most  dishonestly  and  inhumanly,  for  their  kind 
usage  of  me  and  all  our  men,  carried  them  with  him  to  Malaga  and  there  for  a  little  pri- 
vate gain  sold  these  silly  savages.  But  this  vile  act  kept  him  ever  after  from  any  more 
employment  in  these  parts." 

But  what  is  to  be  expected  of  the  average  adventurer  when  the  highest 
sentiment  of  the  time  in  regard  to  the  Indian  as  expressed  by  that  emi- 
nent divine,  Rev.  Cotton  Mather,  is  found  to  have  been  this:  "We  may 
guess  that  probably  the  devil  decoyed  these  miserable  savages  hither,  in 
hopes  that  the  gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  would  never  come  here  to 
destroy  or  disturb  his  absolute  empire  over  them." 

The  first  attempt  to  found  an  English  colony  in  New  England  was  made 
by  Captain  Bartholomew  Gosnold  in  1602.  He  landed  first  on  Cape  Cod, 
and  then  sailed  into  Buzzard's  Bay  and  began  a  settlement  on  the  island 
now  known  as  Cuttyhunk.  The  Indians,  who  were  frequent  visitors, 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  91 

he  described  as  "exceedingly  courteous,  gentle  of  disposition,  and 
well-conditioned,  exceeding  all  others  in  shape  and  looks.  They 
are  of  stature  much  higher  than  we,  of  complexion  much  like  a  dark 
olive ;  their  eyebrows  and  hair  black,  which  they  wear  long  tied  up 
in  knots,  wherein  they  prick  feathers  of  fowls  in  fashion  of  a  coronet,"  etc. 

Another  account,  speaking  of  the  Abenaki  and  Micmac  tribes  farther 
north  on  the  coast  of  Maine,  says,  "they  had  permanent  villages  enclosed 
by  palisades.  They  were  agriculturists,  amiable  and  social,  brave,  faithful 
to  engagements  and  especially  strong  in  their  family  attachments."  In 
May,  1605,  Captain  George  Weymouth  landed  on  their  coast,  seized 
some  of  the  natives  and  carried  them  to  England.  There  was  great  diffi- 
culty in  getting  the  Indians  into  their  boat.  The  statement  is  that  they 
were  strong  and  naked  so  that  "  their  best  hold  was  by  their  long  hair," 
and  it  was  as  much  as  five  could  do  to  take  one  of  them.  In  England  they 
were  objects  of  great  wonder,  and  crowds  of  people  followed  them  in  the 
streets  as  they  had  done  a  century  before,  when  those  brought  over  by 
Cabot  were  exhibited. 

When  in  1609  Henry  Hudson  sailed  in  the  "  Half  Moon"  up  the  noble  river 
which  now  bears  his  name,  he  found  the  natives  a  "very  loving  people." 
They  invited  him  to  visit  them  on  shore,  where  they  made  him  welcome 
and  a  chief  "  made  an  oration  and  showed  him  all  the  country  round 
about."  A  few  years  later  the  Dutch  laid  the  foundation  of  Manhattan, 
now  the  great  city  of  New  York,  the  traders  here  as  elsewhere  constantly 
defrauding  the  Indians.  At  length  the  Dutch  governor,  Kieft,  attempted 
to  exact  tribute  from  them  and  followed  this  up  by  an  attack  on  the 
Raritans  for  an  alleged  theft  at  Staten  Island,  which  brought  on  a  deso- 
lating warfare  that  lasted  two  years. 

This  war  was  succeeded  by  a  period  of  comparative  peace  and  amity 
between  the  whites  and  neighboring  Algonquin  tribes.  The  latter  became 
involved  in  a  war  with  the  Mohawks,  who  came  down  upon  and  drove 
them  in  great  numbers  into  Manhattan  and  other  Dutch  settlements  near 
it.  As  they  were  then  at  peace  with  the  whites,  policy  and  humanity 
alike  suggested  that  they  should  be  well  treated.  Instead  of  this,  their 
defenseless  condition  only  suggested  to  Kieft  the  policy  of  exterminating 
them.  Across  the  river,  at  Pavonia,  a  large  number  of  them  had  collected, 
and  here  at  midnight  the  Dutch  soldiers,  joined  by  some  privateersmen, 
fell  upon  them  while  asleep  in  their  tents  and  butchered  nearly  one  hun- 
dred of  them,  including  women  and  children.  As  might  have  been  ex- 
pected this  cruel  act  was  terribly  avenged.  The  Indians  everywhere  rose 


92 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


upon  the  whites,  killing  the  men,  capturing  the  women  and  children,  and 
destroying  and  laying  waste  the  settlements. 

So  it  was  all  the  way  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Antilles.  Within 
twelve  years  of  the  discovery  of  the  Island  of  St.  Domingo,  its  teeming 
population  who  had  received  the  strangers  with  the  most  generous  hospi- 
tality, were  driven  to  desperation  by  such  perfidious  betrayal  as  no  savage 
nation  ever  could  surpass,  and  after  a  heroic  resistance  in  which  they 
perished  by  the  thousands,  the  miserable  and  broken-hearted  remnant 
were  reduced  to  abject  slavery. 

The  frauds  and  injuries  of  which  they  were  the  victims,  were  not  for- 
gotten by  the  natives,  but,  as  was  quite  natural  were  eventually  returned 
with  interest.  The  wars  were  never  discontinued,  except  in  isolated  and 
exceptional  instances,  until  within  our  own  time  the  curtain  was  rung 
down  on  the  final  ending,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  of  the  drama  of  this  race  war. 

Now  and  then  an  enlightened  conciliatory  and  just  course  of  deal- 
ing was  initiated  by  a  Peter  Stuyvesant  or  a  William  Penn,  and 
always  with  the  happiest  results,  but  in  the  main  the  policy  above  indi- 
cated was  the  one  pursued  from  the  discovery  down  to  our  own  day.  Is 
it  to  be  wondered  at  that  just  in  proportion  as  they  were  brought  into 
contact  with  the  European  their  character  changed,  absorbing  the  worst 
elements  of  the  strangers  without  acquiring  the  best  ? 

Catlin,  after  many  years  given  to  the  study  of  Indian  character  under 
every  variety  of  circumstance,  noted  the  following  results  of  contact 
with  the  white  race  upon  the  Indian,  the  effect  being  classified  as 
secondary  : 


Original. 

HANDSOME. 

MILD. 

MODEST. 

VIRTUOUS. 

TEMPERATE. 

FREE. 

ACTIVE. 

AFFABLE. 

SOCIAL. 

CREDULOUS. 

BOLD. 

STRAIGHT. 

GRACEFUL. 

CLEANLY. 

WARLIKE. 


Secondary. 

UGLY. 

AUSTERE. 

DIFFIDENT. 

LIBIDINOUS. 

DISSIPATED 

ENSLAVED. 

CRIPPLED. 

RESERVED. 

TACITURN. 

SUSPICIOUS. 

TIMID. 

CROOKED. 

GRACELESS. 

FILTHY. 

PEACEABLE. 


Original. 

PROUD. 

IGNORANT. 

VAIN. 

INDEPENDENT. 

HAPPY. 

HEALTHY. 

LONG-LIVED. 

RED. 

SOBER. 

INCREASING. 

STOUT-HEARTED. 

FULL-BLOOD. 

LIVING. 

RICH. 

LANDHOLDERS 


Secondary. 

HUMBLE. 

CONCEITED. 

HUMBLE. 

DEPENDENT. 

MISERABLE. 

SICKLY. 

SHORT-LIVED. 

PALE-FACED. 

DRUNKEN. 

DECREASING. 

BROKEN-HEARTED. 

MIXED-BLOOD. 

DYING. 

POOR. 

BEGGARS. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


93 


Catlin,  after  his  eight  years  of  life  among  the  Indians,  deliberately 
characterizes  as  "  an  anomaly,  a  white  man  dealing  with  Indians  and  met- 
ing out  justice  to  them." 

One  of  Washington  Irving's  most  popular  works  was  that  relating  to  the 
adventures  of  Captain  Bonneville  in  the  far  West.  The  captain  was  an 
enterprising  army  officer  who  obtained  an  indefinite  leave  of  absence  with 
the  object  of  studying  the  Indian  in  his  native  haunts.  As  a  means  to  this 
end  he  adopted  the  profession  of  a  fur-trader  and  spent  five  years  in  the 
region  of  the  Kocky  Mountains  in  the  ostensible  pursuit  of  a  fortune.  He 
"  started  into  the  country  with  one  hundred  and  ten  men ;  whose  very 
appearance  and  equipment  exhibited  a  piebald  mixture — half  civilized  and 
half  savage."  They  sojourned  among  the  Nez  Perces.  the  Flatheads,  and 
many  other  tribes  of  Indians  until  then  uncontaminated  by  exotic 
influences,  and  what  were  their  characteristics?  "They  were  friendly 
in  their  dispositions  and  honest  to  the  most  scrupulous  degree  in  their 
intercourse  with  the  white  men."  Again,  "  Their  hon- 
esty is  immaculate ;  and  their  purity  of  purpose  and 
their  observance  of  the  rites  of  their  religion 
are  most  uniform  and  remarkable.  They  are 
certainly  more  like  a  nation  of  saints  than  a 
horde  of  savages." 

And  how  was  this  "  simple,  timid,  inoffen- 
sive race  "  requited  for  the  welcome  given 
these  men?     The  very  same  account  ex- 
plains, and  it  is  the  old,  sad  story  of  wrong 
to  the  Indian.     "  One  morning  one  of  the 
trappers,  of  a  violent  and  savage  character, 
discovering  that  his  traps  had  been  carried 
off  in  the  night,  took  a  horrid  oath  that 
he  would  kill  the  first  Indian  he  should    • 
meet,  innocent  or  guilty.     As  he  was  re- 
turning with   his  comrades  to  camp,  he 
beheld  two  unfortunate   Root-Digger  In- 
dians seated  on  the  river  bank,   fishing ; 
advancing  upon  them,  he  levelled  his  rifle,  shot  one  upon  the  spot,  and 
flung  his  bleeding  body  into  the  stream." 

It  is  questionable  whether  any  other  native  races  have  so  much  of  that 
stately  dignity  and  pleasing  deportment,  as  had  the  North  American  Indian, 
while  yet  uncontaminated  by  foreign  influences.  Bishop  Whipple  wrote : 


AN  AGED  INDIAN  CHIEF. 


94 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


"  The  North  American  Indian  is  the  noblest  type  of  a  heathen  man  on  the  earth.  He 
recognizes  a  Great  Spirit ;  he  believes  in  immortality  ;  he  has  a  quick  intellect ;  he  is  a 
clear  thinker  ;  he  is  brave  and  fearless,  and,  until  betrayed,  he  is  true  to  his  plighted  faith. 
He  has  a  passionate  love  for  his  children,  and  counts  it  joy  to  die  for  his  people.  Our 
most  terrible  wars  have  been  with  the  noblest  types  of  the  Indians,  and  with  men  who  had 
been  the  white  man's  friend." 

Nicollet  said  the  Sioux  were  the  finest  type  of  wild  men  he  had 
ever  seen.  Lewis  and  Clark,  Governor  Stevens,  and  Colonel  Steptoe  bore 
testimony  to  the  devoted  friendship  of  the  Nez  Perces  for  the  white  man. 
Colonel  Boone,  Colonel  Bent,  General  Harney  and  others  speak  in  the 
highest  praise  of  the  Cheyennes. 

The  Indian's  civility  to  strangers  has  been  remarked  by  all  the  early 


POCAHONTAS  BRINGING  CORX  TO  THE  COLONISTS. 

writers,  and  countless  illustrations  given  to  show  that  they  were  well 
disposed,  and  that  they  treated  newcomers  with  marked  consideration. 
It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  if  it  had  not  been  for  their  hospitality  and 
generosity  in  furnishing  supplies  of  food,  especially  Indian  corn,  the  early 
colonists  both  of  New  England  and  of  Virginia  must  have  perished  with 
hunger. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  95 

Duplicity  and  cruelty  born  of  avarice  and  bigotry  on  the  one  hand, 
and  a  sensitive  pride  and  resentful  spirit  on  the  other,  soon  devel- 
oped into  a  race  war  in  which  the  untutored  savage  showed  himself  an 
apt  pupil  in  the  school  of  cruelty,  injustice  and  indiscriminate  revenge. 
Slow  to  anger,  he  has  been  terrible  in  his  wrath,  pitiless  in  his  animosity 
and  relentless  in  his  pursuit  of  revenge.  I  cannot  better  close  this  chap- 
ter on  Indian  character  than  by  a  few  quotations  from  some  of  our  recog- 
nized authorities,  and  none  stands  higher  on  any  topic  he  deals  with  than 
the  illustrious  Benjamin  Franklin.  He  says  : 

"  Savages  we  call  them  because  their  manners  differ  from  ours,  which  we  think  the 
perfection  of  civility.  They  think  the  same  of  theirs. 

"  Perhaps  if  we  could  examine  the  manners  of  different  nations  with  impartiality, 
we  should  find  no  people  so  rude  as  to  be  without  any  rules  of  politeness,  nor  any  so 
polite  as  not  to  have  some  remains  of  rudeness. 

"  The  Indian  men,  when  young,  are  hunters  and  warriors  ;  when  old,  counselors  ; 
for  all  their  government  is  by  counsel  of  the  sages,  there  is  no  force,  there  are  no  officers 
to  compel  obedience,  or  inflict  punishment.  Hence,  they  generally  study  oratory  ;  the 
best  speaker  having  the  most  influence.  The  Indian  women  till  the  ground,  dress  the 
food,  nurse  and  bring  up  the  children,  and  preserve  and  hand  down  to  posterity  the 
memory  of  public  transactions.  The  employments  of  men  and  women  are  accounted 
natural  and  honorable  ;  having  few  artificial  wants,  they  have  abundance  of  leisure  for 
improvement  by  conversation.  Our  laborious  manner  of  life,  compared  with  theirs,  they 
esteem  slavish  and  base  ;  and  the  learning  on  which  we  value  ourselves  they  regard  as 
frivolous  and  useless.  An  instance  of  this  occurred  at  the  treaty  of  Lancaster,  in  Penn- 
sylvania, anno  1744,  between  the  government  of  Virginia  and  the  Six  Nations.  After 
the  principal  business  was  settled,  the-  commissioners  from  Virginia  acquainted  the  Indians 
by  a  speech,  that  there  was  at  Williamsburg  a  college  with  a  fund  for  educating  youth  ; 
and  that,  if  the  Six  Nations  would  send  half  a  dozen  of  their  young  lads  to  that  college, 
the  government  would  take  care  that  they  should  be  well  provided  for,  and  instructed  in 
all  the  learning  of  the  white  people.  It  is  one  of  the  Indian  rules  of  politeness  not  to 
answer  a  public  proposition  on  the  same  clay  that  it  is  made  ;  they  think  it  would  be 
treating  it  as  a  light  matter,  and  that  they  show  it  respect  by  taking  time  to  consider  it 
as  of  a  matter  important.  They  therefore  deferred  their  answer  till  the  day  following, 
when  their  speaker  began  by  expressing  their  deep  sense  of  the  kindness  of  the  Virginian 
government  in  making  them  that  offer.  '  For  we  know '  says  he,  '  that  you  highly  esteem 
the  kind  of  learning  taught  in  these  colleges,  and  that  the  maintenance  of  our  young  men 
with  you  would  be  very  expensive  to  you.  We  are  convinced,  therefore,  that  you  mean 
to  do  us  good  by  your  proposal,  and  we  thank  you  heartily.  But  you,  who  are  wise, 
must  know,  that  different  nations  have  different  conceptions  of  things,  and  you  will  there- 
fore not  take  it  amiss  if  our  ideas  of  this  kind  of  education  happen  not  to  be  the  same 
with  yours.  We  have  had  some  experience  of  it ;  several  of  our  young  people  were 
formerly  brought  up  at  the  colleges  of  the  northern  provinces  ;  they  were  instructed  in 
all  your  sciences,  but  when  they  came  back  to  us  they  were  bad  runners,  ignorant  of 
every  means  of  living  in  the  woods,  unable  to  bear  either  cold  or  hunger,  knew  neither 


96 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


how  to  build  a  cabin,  take  a  deer,  or  kill  an  enemy ;  spoke  our  language  imperfectly ; 
were  therefore  neither  fit  for  hunters,  warriors,  or  counsellors  ;  they  were  totally  good  foi 
nothing.  We  are,  however,  not  the  less  obliged  by  your  kind  offer,  though  we  decline 
accepting  it  ;  and  to  show  our  grateful  sense  of  it,  if  the  gentlemen  of  Virginia  will  send 
us  a  dozen  of  their  sons,  we  will  take  great  care  of  their  education,  instruct  them  in  all 
we  know,  and  make  men  of  them.' 

"Having  frequent  occasions  to  hold  public  counsels,  they  have  acquired  great  order 
and  decency  in  conducting  them.  The  old  men  sit  in  the  foremost  ranks,  the  warriors  in 
the  next,  and  the  women  and  children  in  the  hinderniost.  The  business  of  the  women  is  to 
take  exact  notice  of  what  passes,  imprint  it  in  their  memories  (for  they  have  no  writing), 


INDIAN  COUNCIL. 

and  communicate  it  to  their  children.  They  are  the  records  of  the  council,  and  they  pre- 
serve traditions  of  the  stipulations  in  treaties  one  hundred  years  back,  which,  when  we 
compare  them  with  our  writings,  we  always  find  exact.  He  that  would  speak,  rises  ;  the 
rest  observe  a  profound  silence.  When  he  has  finished,  and  sits  down,  they  leave  him  five 
or  six  minutes  to  recollect,  so  that  if  he  has  omitted  anything  he  intended  to  say,  or  has 
anything  to  add,  he  may  rise  again  and  deliver  it.  To  interrupt  another,  even  in  common 
conversation,  is  reckoned  highly  indecent.  How  different  this  is  from  the  conduct  of  a 
polite  British  House  of  Commons,  where  scarce  a  day  passes  without  some  confusion  that 
makes  the  Speaker  hoarse  in  calling  to  order !  and  how  different  from  the  mode  of  con- 
versation in  the  polite  companies  of  Europe,  where,  if  you  do  not  deliver  your  sentence 
witli  great  rapidity,  you  are  cut  off  in  the  middle  of  it  by  the  impatient  loquacity  of  those 
you  converse  with,  and  never  suffered  to  finish  it  ! 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  97 

"  The  politeness  of  these  savages  in  conversation  is,  indeed,  carried  to  excess,  since  it 
does  not  permit  them  to  contradict  or  deny  the  truth  of  what  is  asserted  in  their  presence. 
By  this  means  they  indeed  avoid  dispute ;  but  it  becomes  difficult  to  know  their  minds,  or 
what  impression  you  make  upon  them.  The  missionaries  who  have  attempted  to  convert 
them  to  Christianity  all  complain  of  this  as  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  of  their  mission. 
The  Indians  hear  with  patience  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  explained  to  them,  and  give  their 
usual  tokens  of  assent  or  approbation  ;  you  would  think  they  were  convinced.  No  such 
matter ;  it  is  mere  civility. 

"  When  any  of  them  come  into  our  towns,  our  people  are  apt  to  crowd  round  them, 
and  incommode  them  where  they  desire  to  be  private ;  this  they  esteem  great  rudeness, 
and  the  effect  of  want  of  instruction  in  the  rules  of  civility  and  good  manners.  'We 
have,'  say  they,  'as  much  curiosity  as  you,  and  when  you  come  into  our  towns  we  wish  for 
opportunities  of  looking  at  you.  But  for  this  purpose  we  hide  ourselves  behind  bushes 
where  you  are  to  pass,  and  never  intrude  ourselves  into  your  company.' 

"  Their  manner  of  entering  one  another's  villages  has  likewise  its  rules.  It  is 
reckoned  uncivil  in  traveling  for  strangers  to  enter  a  village  abruptly,  without  giving 
notice  of  their  approach.  Therefore,  as  soon  as  they  arrive  within  hearing,  they  stop  and 
halloo,  remaining  there  until  invited  to  enter.  Two  old  men  usually  come  out  to  them, 
and  lead  them  in.  There  is,  in  every  village,  a  vacant  dwelling  called  the  stranger's 
house.  Here  they  are  placed  while  the  old  men  go  round  from  hut  to  hut,  acquainting 
the  inhabitants  that  strangers  are  arrived,  who  are  probably  hungry  and  weary,  and  every 
one  sends  them  what  they  can  spare  of  victuals  and  skins  to  repose  on.  When  the 
strangers  are  refreshed,  pipes  and  tobacco  are  brought ;  and  then,  not  before,  conversa- 
tion begins,  with  inquiries  who  they  are,  whither  bound,  what  news,  etc.;  and  it  usually 
ends  with  offers  of  service,  if  the  strangers  have  occasion  for  guides,  or  any  necessaries 
for  continuing  their  journey  ;  and  nothing  is  exacted  for  the  entertainment. 

"  The  same  hospitality,  esteemed  among  them  as  a  principal  virtue,  is  practiced  by 
private  persons,  of  which  Conrad  Weiser,  our  interpreter,  gave  me  the  following  instance. 
He  had  been  naturalized  among  the  Six  Nations,  and  spoke  well  the  Mohawk  language. 
In  going  through  the  Indian  country,  to  carry  a  message  from  our  governor  to  the  council 
at  Onondaga,  he  called  at  the  habitation  of  Canastego,  an  old  acquaintance,  who  embraced 
him,  spread  furs  for  him  to  sit  on,  placed  before  him  some  boiled  beans  and  venison,  and 
mixed  some  rum  and  water  for  his  drink.  When  he  was  well  refreshed  and  had  lit  his 
pipe,  Canastego  began  to  converse  with  him  ;  asked  him  how  he  had  fared  the  many  years 
since  they  had  seen  each  other,  whence  he  then  came,  what  occasioned  the  journey,  etc., 
etc.  Conrad  answered  all  his  questions  ;  and  when  the  discourse  began  to  flag  the  Indian 
to  continue  it  said:  'Conrad,  you  have  lived  long  among  the  white  people,  and  know 
something  of  their  customs.  I  have  been  sometimes  at  Albany,  and  have  observed  that 
once  in  seven  days  they  shut  up  their  shops,  and  assemble  all  in  the  great  house  ;  tell  me, 
what  is  it  for  ?'  'They  meet  there,'  said  Conrad,  'to  hear  and  learn  good  things.'  'I  do 
not  doubt,'  said  the  Indian,  'that  they  tell  you  so;  they  have  told  me  the  same  ;  but  I 
doubt  the  truth  of  what  they  say.  1  will  tell  you  my  reasons.  I  went  lately  to  Albany 
to  sell  my  skins,  and  buy  blankets,  knives,  powder,  rum,  etc.  You  know  I  used  generally 
to  deal  with  Hans  Hansen,  but  I  was  a  little  inclined  this  time  to  try  some  other  merchants. 
However,  I  called  first  upon  Hans,  and  asked  him  what  he  would  give  for  beaver.  He  said 
he  would  not  give  more  than  four  shillings  a  pound  ;  '  but,'  said  he,  '  I  cannot  talk  on  busi- 


98  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

ness  now  ;  this  is  the  day  when  we  meet  together  to  learn  good  things,  and  I  am  going  to 
the  meeting.'  So  I  thought  to  myself,  since  we  cannot  do  any  business  to-day,  I  may  as 
well  go  to  the  meeting  too ;  and  I  went  with  him.  There  stood  up  a  man  in  black,  and 
began  to  talk  to  the  people  very  angrily.  I  did  not  understand  what  he  said  ;  but,  per- 
ceiving that  he  looked  much  at  me  and  Hansen,  I  imagined  he  was  angry  at  seeing  me 
there.  So  I  went  out,  sat  down  near  the  house,  struck  fire,  and  lit  my  pipe,  waiting  till 
the  meeting  broke  up.  I  thought  too,  that  the  man  had  mentioned  something  of  beaver, 
and  I  suspected  it  might  be  the  subject  of  their  meeting.  So,  when  they  came  out,  I  ac- 
costed my  merchant :  '  Well,  Hans,'  said  I,  '  I  hope  you  have  agreed  to  give  me  more 
than  four  shillings  a  pound  ?  '  '  No,'  said  he,  '  I  cannot  give  so  much  ;  I  cannot  give  more 
than  three  shillings  and  sixpence.'  I  then  spoke  to  several  other  dealers,  but  they  all  sung 
the  same  song — '  three  and  sixpence  — three  and  sixpence.'  This  made  it  clear  to  me  that  my 
suspicion  was  right,  and  that,  whatever  they  pretend  of  meeting  to  learn  good  things,  the  real 
purpose  is  to  consult  how  to  cheat  Indians  in  the  price  of  beaver.  Consider  but  a  little,  Con- 
rad, and  you  must  be  of  my  opinion.  If  they  meet  so  often  to  learn  good  things,  they  would 
certainly  have  learnt  some  before  this  time,  but  they  are  still  ignorant.  You  know  our 
practice  ;  if  a  white  man  in  traveling  through  our  country,  enters  one  of  our  cabins,  we  all 
treat  him  as  I  treat  you  ;  we  dry  him  if  he  is  wet,  we  warm  him  if  he  is  cold,  we  give  him 
meat  and  drink,  that  he  may  allay  his  thirst  and  hunger,  and  spread  soft  furs  for  him  to 
rest  and  sleep  on.  We  demand  nothing  in  return.  But,  if  I  go  into  a  white  man's  house 
at  Albany,  and  ask  for  victuals  and  drink,  they  say,  '  Where  is  your  money  ? '  and  if  I 
have  none,  they  say,  '  Get  out,  you  Indian  dog  ! '  You  see  they  have  not  yet  learnt  those 
little  good  things  that  we  need  no  meetings  to  be  instructed  in,  because  our  mothers 
taught  them  to  us  when  we  were  children  ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  impossible  their  meetings 
should  be,  as  they  say,  for  any  such  purpose  or  have  any  such  effect.  They  are  only  to 
contrive  the  cheating  of  Indians  in  the  price  of  beaver." 

Parkman,  the  historian,  states  that  Joliet  and  Marquette,  descending 
the  newly- discovered  upper  Mississippi,  and  finding  foot-prints  of  men  in 
the  mud  of  the  western  bank  and  a  well-trodden  path  that  led  to  the  ad- 
jacent prairie,  "resolved  to  follow  it,  and,  leaving  the  canoes  in  charge  of 
their  men,  they  set  out  on  their  hazardous  adventure.  The  day  was  fair, 
and  they  walked  two  leagues  in  silence,  following  the  path  through  the 
forest  and  across  the  sunny  prairie  till  they  discovered  an  Indian  village 
on  the  banks  of  a  river,  and  two  others  on  a  hill  half  a  league  distant. 
Now  with  beating  hearts  they  invoked  the  aid  of  Heaven,  and  again  ad- 
vancing, came  so  near  without  being  seen  that  they  could  hear  the  voices 
of  the  Indians  among  the  wigwams.  Then  they  stood  forth  in  full  view, 
and  shouted  to  attract  attention.  There  -was  great  commotion  in  the  vil- 
lage. The  inmates  swarmed  out  of  their  huts,  and  four  of  their  chief  men 
presently  came  foward  to  meet  the  strangers,  advancing  very  deliberately 
and  holding  up  toward  the  sun  two  calumets,  or  peace-pipes,  decorated 
with  feathers.  They  stopped  abruptly  before  the  two  Frenchmen,  and 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


99 


1.  Famous  Peace  Pipe. 
2-8.  Sioux  Tobacco  Pipes. 

4.  Tall  Bull's  Tobacco  Pipe,  Ornamented  with  Feath- 

ers and  Scalp  Locks. 

5.  Tobacco  Pipe  of  the  Shoshones  or  Snakes. 

6.  War  Bonnet  ot  Red  Cloud,  Principal  Chief  of  the 

Sioux 


7.  Beaded  Tobacco  Pouch. 

8.  Sioux  War  Club. 

9.  Ute  Beaded  Tobacco  Pouch. 

10.  Sioux  Gourd  Rattle. 

11.  Water  Jar  Made  of  Glass  and  Lined  with  Pitch. 


100  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

stood  gazing  at  them  with  attention,  without  speaking  a  word.  Marquette 
was  much  relieved  on  seeing  that  they  wore  French  cloth,  whence  he  judged 
they  must  be  friends  and  allies.  He  broke  the  silence,  and  asked  them 
who  they  were ;  whereupon  they  answered  that  they  were  Illinois,  and 
offered  the  pipe,  which  having  been  duly  smoked,  they  all  went  together  to 
the  village.  Hei'e  the  chief  received  the  travelers  after  a  singular  fashion, 
meant  to  do  them  honor.  He  stood  stark  naked  at  the  door  of  a  large  wig- 
wam, holding  up  both  his  hands  as  if  to  shield  his  eyes.  '  Frenchmen,  how 
bright  the  sun  shines  when  you  come  to  visit  us  !  All  our  village  awaits 
you ;  and  you  shall  enter  our  wigwams  in  peace.'  So  saying,  he  led  them 
into  his  own,  which  was  crowded  to  suffocation  with  savages  staring  at 
their  guests  in  silence." 

The  poet  Halleck  has  given  us  a  good  analysis  of  the  character  of  the 
native  Indian,  in  his  description  of  the  noted  chief,  Bed  Jacket.  (To  the 
fine  qualities  of  this  great  chief,  not  only  as  a  brilliant  warrior  but  also  as 
a  fiery  and  impressive  orator,  no  less  distinguished  an  authority  than  La 
Fayette  has  borne  emphatic  testimony.)  Halleck  says  : 

"FOR  thou  wast  monarch  born.     Tradition's  pages 

Tell  not  the  planting  of  thy  parent  tree, 
But  that  the  forest  tribes  have   bent  for  ages 

O 

To  thee,  and  to  thy  sires,  the  subject  knee 

Thy  name  is  princely  —  if  no  poet's  magic 

Could  make  RED  JACKET  grace  an  English  rhyme, 

Though  some  one  with  a  genius  for  the  tragic 
Hath  introduced  it  in  a  pantomime, 

Yet  it  is  music  in  the  language  spoken 

Of  thine  own   land  ;   and  on  her  herald  roll ; 
As  bravely  fought  for,  and  as  proud  a  token 

As  Cceur  de  Lion's  of  a  warrior's  soul. 

Thy  garb  —  though  Austria's  bosom-star  would  frighten 
That  medal  pale,  as  diamonds  the  dark  mine, 

And  George  the  Fourth  wore,  at  his  court  at  Brighton, 
A  more   becoming  evening  dress  than   thine  ; 

Yet  'tis  a  brave  one,  scorning  wind  and  weather, 

And  fitted  for  thy  couch,  on  field  and  flood, 
As  Rob   Roy's  tartan  for  the  Highland  heather, 

Or  forest  green  for  England's  Robin  Hood. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  101 

Is  strength  a  monarch's  merit,  like  a  whaler's  ? 

Thou  art  as  tall,  as  sinewy,  and  as  strong 
As  earth's  first  kings  —  the  Argo's  gallant  sailors, 

Heroes  in  history,  and   gods  in  song. 

Is  beauty  ?     Thine  has  with  thy  youth  departed  ; 

But  the  love-legends  of  thy  manhood's  years, 
And  she  who  perished,  young  and  broken-hearted, 

Are  —  but  I  rhyme  for  smiles  and  not  for  tears. 

Is  eloquence?  —  Her  spell   is  thine  that  reaches 

The  heart,  and  makes  the  wisest  head  its  sport  ; 
And  there's  one  rare,  strange   virtue  in  thy  speeches, 

The  secret  of  their  mastery  —  they  are  short. 

The  monarch  mind,  the  mystery  of  commanding, 

The   birth-hour  gift,  the  art  Napoleon, 
Of  winning,  fettering,  moulding,  wielding,  banding 

The  hearts  of  millions  till  they  move  as  one  : 

Thou  hast  it.     At  thy  bidding  men  have    crowded 

The  road  to  death  as  to  a  festival  ; 
And  minstrels,   at  their  sepulchres,  have  shrouded 

With  banner-folds  of  glory  the  dark  pall. 

Who  will  believe?     Not  I  —  for  in  deceiving 

Lies  the  dear  charm  of   life's  delightful  dream  ; 
I  cannot  spare  the  luxury  of  believing 

That  all  things  beautiful  are  what  they  seem ; 

Who  will  believe  that,  with  a  smile  whose  blessing 
Would   like  the    Patriarch's,  soothe  a  dying  hour, 

With  voice  as  low,  as  gentle,  and  caressing, 
As  e'er  won  maiden's  lip  in  moonlit  bower  ; 

With  look,  like  patient  Job's,  eschewing  evil ; 

With  motions  graceful  as  a  bird's  in  air  ; 
Thou  art,  in  sober  truth,  the  veriest  devil 

That  e'er  clenched  fingers  in  a  captive's  hair ! 

That  in  thy  breast  there  springs  a  poison  fountain, 

Deadlier  than  that  where  bathes  the  Upas-tree ; 
And  in  thy  wrath,  a  nursing  cat-o'-mountain 

Is  calm  as  her  babe's  sleep  compared  with  thee  ! 


102 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

And  underneath  that  face,  like  summer  ocean's, 
Its  lip  as  moveless,  and  its  cheek  as  clear, 

Slumbers  a  whirlwind  of  the  heart's  emotions, 
Love,  hatred,  pride,  hope,  sorrow  —  all  save  fear. 

Love  —  for  thy  land,  as  if  she  were  thy  daughter, 
Her  pipe  in  peace,  her  tomahawk  in  wars ; 

Hatred  —  of  missionaries  and  cold  water; 
Pride  —  in  thy  rifle-trophies  and  thy  scars ; 

Hope  —  that  thy  wrongs  may  be,  by  thy  Great  Spirit, 
Remembered  and  revenged  when  thou  art  gone ; 

Sorrow  —  that  none  are  left  thee  to  inherit 

Thy  name,  thy  fame,  thy  passions,  and  thy  throne  ! " 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  1Q3 


CHAPTER  VII. 
INDIAN  LAW,  RELIGION  AND  ELOQUENCE. 

SYSTEMS  or  GOVERNMENT  —  DOMESTIC  AFFAIRS  —  Reuoious  BELIEFS  AND   OBSERVANCES  —  NOT 

ORIGINALLY  NOMADS — TECUMSEH  —  IN  COUNCIL  WITH  GENERAL  HARRISON — TECUMSEH'B 

CHARACTER    AND    DEATH  —  THE  BLACK  HAWK  AVAR  —  SURRENDER  OF    BLACK 

HAWK  —  His  ELOQUENCE — TAKEN  TO  WASHINGTON  —  PRESENTED   TO  THE 

PRESIDENT  —  TOUR  THROUGH  THE  NORTH  —  RETURN  TO  IOWA  AND 

MEETING    WITH    KEOKUK  —  DEATH    OF    BLACK    HAWK. 

ED  Indians  are  governed  by  the  same  motives  and  impulses  that 
sway  people  everywhere.     They  are  peculiarly  susceptible  to  the 
influence  of  the  keen  and  subtle  oratory  with  which  many  of  their 
leaders  have  been  gifted.  Without  any  established  or  written  con- 
stitution or  code  of  laws,  without  courts  of  justice  or  established 
uforms  of  official  authority,  all  their  affairs  are  controlled  by  coun- 
cils in  which  the  influence  of  the  superior  intellect  and  stronger 
will  sways  the  thought  and  action  of  all,  and  controls  the  action 
and  destiny  of  their  people.    The  wishes  and  interests  of  the  minority  are 
equally  considered  with  those  of  the  majority.  What  is  advocated  in  council 
and  presented  deliberately  to  the  minds  of  the  people  who  are  concerned, 
and  then  adopted  by  the  majority  of  those  concerned,  becomes  the  rule  of 
government,  or  the  general  understanding  and  principle  of  what  shall  pre- 
vail ;  in  other  words,  the  unwritten  law.     In  their  tribal  relations  they 
seem  to  acquiesce  in  the  opinion  and  judgment  of  the  majority  after  the 
matters  have  been  fully  considered,  thoroughly  discussed,  and  understood, 
and  anyone  who  acts  contrary  to  such  conclusion  of  the  whole,  renders  him- 
self so  unpopular  as  to  make  his  life  almost  a  burden  without  any  prescribed 
punishment  being  officially  visited  upon  him.     Public  sentiment  seems  to 
be  so  strong  that  all  alike  are  impelled  to  abide  by  the  decision. 

In  their  domestic  affairs  they  seem  quite  as  favored  as  other  people. 
Peace  and  harmony  prevail  quite  to  the  same  extent  as  among  the  more 
civilized  races.  The  division  of  labor  is  such  as  is  natural  among  many 
other  people.  It  is  considered  the  duty  of  the  male,  the  warrior,  to  defend  the 
camp  against  the  hereditary  enemy,  to  obtain  the  food  and  bring  it  to  the 
lodge,  or  the  home.  This,  before  they  had  firearms  and  horses,  must  have 


104  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

involved  a  life  of  continual  labor  and  hardship,  as  well  as  danger.  With  the 
simple,  rude  instruments  which  they  were  able  to  make  they  had  to  en- 
counter the  wild  beasts  of  the  forests,  and  follow  the  wary  game  until  it 
was  overtaken,  which  required  an  endless  fund  of  energy  and  an  amount 
of  effort  by  no  means  trifling.  Their  contests  against  the  white  race 
for  hundreds  of  years  have  been  against  a  civilized  power,  at  great 
disadvantagje,  disputing  every  mile  of  territory  which  has  been  acquired 
from  them.^  None  but  a  brave  and  heroic  people  could  contend  for  gene- 
rations, as  they  have  done,  against  all  the  knowledge  and  skill  and  superior 
appliances  at  the  disposal  of  the  white  man.  During  all  that  time  they 
could  not  make  a  knife,  a  rifle,  or  a  round  of  ammunition.  The  modern 
weapons  of  war  they  have  been  able  to  obtain  only  in  limited  quantities, 
and  at  the  most  exorbitant  rates,  except  such  as  they  have  taken  from 
their  enemy  in  battle. 

Their  religion  is  one  of  reverence  for  the  mysterious  elements  of  nature. 
To  anything  that  they  cannot  understand,  to  whatever  they  cannot  com- 
prehend they  give  a  spirit  and  attach  a  name.  They  worship  the  sun,  the 
source  of  light  and  life  and  motion,  as  their  father,  and  the  earth  as  their 
mother.  Their  sacrifices  are  to  some  spirit  in  acknowledgement  of  obliga- 
tion for  favors  received  or  benefits  they  hope  to  receive.  For  instance, 
when  a  beloved  child  is  sick  unto  death  his  father  prays  to  the  spirit 
of  the  sun  to  give  him  strength  and  life  and  health,  and  registers  a 
vow  that  he  himself  will  make  the  sacrifice  of  going  through  the  sun-dance 
as  an  acknowledgment  of  his  obligation.  A  young  warrior  finds  himself  in 
some  desperate  emergency  where  his  life  is  in  danger  either  from  exposure 
or  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  registers  a  vow  that  he  will  make  sacrifices  to 
the  sun  at  the  next  annual  feast  and  festival  of  the  tribe.  Or  if  he  is  just 
starting  upon  his  career  of  manhood,  or  entering  the  position  of  life  which 
he  expects  to  hold  as  a  warrior,  he  desires  to  show  his  courage  and  fortitude 
by  going  through  the  sun-dance  and  making  the  sacrifice  of  pain  and 
suffering  to  prove  to  himself  and  his  relatives  that  he  is  worthy  of  their 
respect  and  homage.  The  head  warrior  of  the  Ogalallas,  Hump,  came  to 
me  on  the  Yellowstone  to  tell  me  of  the  illness  of  his  little  son,  then  but  a 
year  old,  and  just  as  he  was  leaving  he  made  the  request  that  if  his  child 
lived  in  answer  to  his  prayers,  he  might  be  allowed  to  go  through  the  sun- 
dance,  which  was  to  occur  as  they  hoped  a  few  months  later  in  the  spring. 
They  believed  in  the  old  patriarchal  law  of  an  "  eye  for  an  eye,"  and  "  a 
tooth  for  a  tooth."  Hence  what  we  call  revenge  is  a  part  of  their  religion. 
If  they  or  their  relatives  suffer  a  wrong  or  receive  an  injury,  especially  if 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


105 


M— 7 


INDIAN  DANCES    AND  SELF  TORTURE. 


106  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

one  of  great  severity,  it  is  the  duty  of  all  the  relatives  to  seek  out  those 
who  have  done  the  injury  and  inflict  one  of  equal  severity,  or  to  inflict  a 
like  injury  upon  some  member  of  the  tribe  or  race  of  the  aggressors. 
They  believe  that  the  spirits  of  the  departed  when  thus  avenged,  will  be 
soothed  and  pacified.  They  picture  Heaven  as  the  kind  of  place  that  is 
most  desirable  to  them,  a  perfect  nature  with  abundance  of  everything 
that  they  enjoy  here,  a  blissful  existence,  a  reunion  of  cherished  spirits. 
Their  religious  beliefs  vary  with  locality,  surroundings  and  conditions, 
and  are  quite  interesting.  We  can  only  state  in  brief  that  some  of 
them  believe  in  a  system  of  worlds.  Some  tribes  have  their  worlds 
arranged  topographically.  Among  other  tribes  the  worlds  are  arranged 
architecturally — a  world  or  worlds  below  and  others  above.  The  sun 
and  moon  are  personages.  They  have  been  enslaved,  and  are  com- 
pelled to  travel  in  appointed  ways.  The  aurora  is  the  dancing  of  ghosts. 
The  rainbow  is  made  of  the  tears  of  the  eagle-god.  The  thunder  is 
the  screaming  of  a  great  bird.  The  lightning  is  the  arrow  of  Taowity. 
Among  the  Pueblos  the  rain-god  dips  his  brush,  made  from  the  feath- 
ers of  the  birds  of  heaven,  into  the  lakes  of  the  skies,  and  sprinkles 
the  waters  therefrom  over  the  face  of  this  world.  Hence  the  rain. 
In  winter  he  breaks  the  ice  of  the  lakes  and  scatters  ice  dust  over 
the  earth.  Hence  snow.  Their  gods  are  animals.  Some  of  these  animals 
are  mythical  beasts — monsters  with  many  heads  and  many  horns.  Some 
of  them  are  presiding  spirits  of  places,  as  the  spirit  of  a  certain  mountain", 
or  river,  or  lake.  Some  of  them  are  tutelar  deities.  Every  family,  clan 
and  tribe  has  its  tutelar  god.  Indian  theology  is  not  a  degeneracy  either 
from  monotheism  or  from  the  polytheism  of  classical  nations,  or  from  that 
earlier  polytheism  where  the  forces  of  nature  and  its  phenomena  were 
deified.  It  is  rather  a  development  from  fetichism. 

In  some  tribes  there  are  three  classes  of  priests.  The  first  are  prophets. 
The  next  are  "  medicine  men,"  who  take  charge  of  the  religious  ceremonies, 
practice  sorcery  and  drive  out  evil  spirits.  The  third  and  lower  class  con- 
sists of  witches.  Old  women  are  oftentimes  thought  to  have  been  trans- 
formed into  witches.  The  Indians  offer  sacrifices  of  parts  of  animals 
killed  in  the  chase.  They  are  slaves  to  religious  observances,  to  times 
and  methods  and  absurd  prohibitions.  In  every  tribe  there  is  a  great 
fund  of  story-lore,  or  tales  purporting  to  be  the  sayings  and  doings  of  the 
ancients,  whom  they  now  worship  as  deities.  Every  tribe  has  one  or 
more  persons  skilled  in  the  relation  of  these  stories.  These  are  the 
preachers. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  107 

From  all  the  indications  we  have,  the  Indians  were  not  originally  so 
nomadic  a  people  as  they  have  been  since  they  obtained  horses  from  the 
Spaniards.  It  was  much  more  difficult  for  them  to  move  about  from  place 
to  place  when  the  only  means  of  transportation  was  by  boat  and  canoe 
along  the  lakes  and  rivers,  and  on  foot  over  the  difficult  forest  trails.  It  is 
probable.,  that  some  tribes  cultivated  the  ground  more  a  hundred  years 
ago  than  they  do  now.  The  cultivation  of  the  Indian  corn  was  one 
of  their  principal  industries,  and  in  the  early  campaigns  against  them,  this 
product  was  the  object  of  destruction  and  devastation  by  the  whites  as  a 
means  of  reducing  them  to  poverty  and  subjection.  This  was  so  especially 
in  the  campaigns  against  the  Six  Nations,  the  Miamis,  the  Cherokees,  the 
Choctaws  and  the  Chickasaws. 

Intellectually  they  have  often  displayed  marked  ability  in  their  di- 
plomacy, and  in  the  combinations  in  which  they  made  common  cause 
against  the  whites,  or  against  other  bodies  of  their  own  race.  Combinations 
offensive  and  defensive  show  great  aptitude  in  statecraft  as  well  as  in  the 
art  of  war.  The  journeys  made  by  the  Prophet  Elkswatawa,  along  the 
lakes,  penetrating  to  the  south  as  far  as  Alabama  and  the  Carolinas  and 
thence  north  through  what  is  now  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  and  which 
resulted  in  forming  that  great  confederation  of  tribes  against  the  white 
pioneer,  was  an  achievement  worthy  of  a  statesman  of  the  first  order,  and 
the  ability  displayed  by  his  brother  Tecumseh  marked  him  as  a  military 
genius  of  great  merit.  The  conspiracy  of  Pontiac  in  which  he  planned  the 
attack  and  capture  of  nine  out  of  eleven  English  military  posts  stretch- 
ing from  Fort  Pitt,  where  now  stands  the  city  of  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, to  Detroit,  Michigan.was  a  military  achievement  evincing  great  ability. 
In  our  own  time,  Sitting  Bull,  Looking-glass  and  Chief  Joseph  have  exhibited 
similar  abilities,  while  Spotted  Tail,  Eed  Cloud,  Chief  Joseph,  Moses,  Ouray 
and  others  have  met  in  council  many  of  the  brightest  politicians,  states- 
men, soldiers  and  lawyers  sent  out  to  represent  our  government,  and,  by 
reason,  logic,  argument  and  eloquence  have  proved  a  match  for  them  in  all 
but  the  force  of  numbers. 

This  unequal  contest  has  been  going  on  for  many  generations  between 
millions  of  white  civilized  people  on  the  one  side,  and  less  than  three 
hundred  thousand  natives  on  the  other.  Meantime,  contemporaneous 
events  have  been  enacted  in  other  parts  of  the  world  which  make  the 
North  American  Indian  stand  forth  by  contrast  as  a  marvel  of  patriotism, 
heroism,  self-sacrifice  and  fortitude.  During  the  period  of  that  long  con- 
test the  English  have  subjugated  three  hundred  millions  of  the  natives  of 


108  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

India  and  all  the  natives  of  Australia,  have  dethroned  the  monarch  of 
Ethiopia  and  have  taken  the  Egyptians  under  their  sway,  besides  the  entire 
populations  of  innumerable  islands  of  the  sea.  Russia  has  conquered  all 
Siberia,  with  other  peoples  aggregating  more  than  twenty  millions  in 
population.  Spain  and  Portugal  between  them  have  subjugated  all  the 
millions  of  natives  of  all  the  Americas  south  of  a  line  extending  in  a  gen- 
eral way  westward  from  Fernandina  to  the  Tia  Juana  on  the  Pacific,  and 
even  some  of  the  races  living  far  north  of  that  line.  The  natives  of  the 
south  temperate  zone  far  south  of  the  equator  appear  to  have  been  a  war- 
like people,  similar  to  the  North  Americans  and  were  not  entirely  sub- 
jugated until  within  a  recent  period.  France  has  pushed  her  conquests  in 
Africa,  Madagascar,  Asia  and  Oceanica.  All  these  nations  with  one  excep- 
tion have  one  after  another,  or  several  at  the  same  time,  tried  the  metal  of 
the  North  American  Indian,  less  than  three  hundred  thousand  strong,  who 
finally  succumbed  to  the  overwhelming  odds  only  within  the  present  decade. 
Not  the  least  notable  characteristic  of  the  Indian,  when  we  reflect  that  he 
was  without  a  written  language  or  alphabet,  was  the  wonderful  imagery 
with  which  he  embellished  his  oral  speech.  In  this  kind  of  eloquence  he  has 
been  a  model  for  our  own  orators,  and  has  thus  contributed  to  enrich  the 
literature  of  civilization.  The  illustrations  are  abundant  in  the  records  of 
our  dealings  with  the  Indians  during  the  past  two  centuries  and  a  half,  but 
I  will  instance  only  a  few. 

In  1810  Tecumseh  descended  the  Wabash,  accompanied  by  four  hun- 
dred warriors,  to  keep  an  appointment  for  a  council  with  General  Harri- 
son, whose  headquarters  were  at  Vincennes.  Appreciating  the  character 
and  influence  of  his  visitor,  Harrison  arranged  to  hold  the  conference  on- 
the  portico  of  his  own  house,  and  there,  attended  by  the  judges  of  the 
supreme  court  of  the  Territory,  several  army  officers,  and  several  soldiers 
and  citizens,  he  awaited  the  coming  of  the  chief  and  his  delegation.  On 
the  morning  of  August  15,  at  the  hour  fixed,  Tecumseh  came  supported  by 
forty  of  his  warriors,  the  rest  being  encamped  a  short  distance  away. 
When  about  a  hundred  feet  away,  Tecumseh  stopped  and  looked  inquir- 
ingly at  the  throng  on  the  portico.  Harrison,  through  an  interpreter 
inquired  what  was  the  matter,  and  invited  the  chief  and  his  party  to  join 
him.  Tecumseh  replied  that  the  porch  of  a  house  was  not  a  suitable  place 
to  hold  the  conference,  which  he  said  should  be  in  a  grove  of  trees,  point- 
ing at  the  same  time  to  one  near  the  house.  The  general  assented,  and 
there  the  conference  was  opened  by  Tecumseh,  who  stated  the  irritating 
question  between  the  whites  and  his  race.  Referring  to  the  treaty  made 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


109 


by  Harrison  at  Fort  Wayne  the  previous  year,  he  boldly  declared  that  he 
was  determined  to  fight  against  the  cession  of  lands  by  the  Indians  unless 
assented  to  by  all  the  tribes.  He  admitted  that  he  had  threatened  to  kill 
the  chiefs  who  signed  the  Fort  Wayne  treaty,  and  launched  out  into  an  im- 
passioned summary  of  the  wrongs  his  people  had 
suffered  from  the  close  of  the  Revolution  to  that 
day,  declaring  that  the  Americans  had  driven  the 
Indians  from  the  sea  coast  and  would  soon  drive 
them  into  the  lakes.  It  was  plain  that  this  appeal 
"struck  fire"  in  the  hearts  of  his  own 
people,  who  would  have  followed  his 
commands  to  the  death.  Having  fin- 
ished his  speech  and  turned  to  seat 
himself,  he  was  by  direction  of  General 
Harrison  offered  a  chair  by  the  inter- 
preter who  said,  "  Your  father  requests 
you  to  take  a  chair." 

"My  father?"  said  Tecumseh  with 
great  dignity,  "  The  sun  is  my  father  and 
the  earth  is  my  mother,  and  I  will  rest 
on  her  bosom." 

General  Harrison's  reply  to  his  speech 
was  intended  to  have  a  pacific  effect, 
but  the  result  was  quite  the  reverse  of  that.  Tecumseh  in  a  towering 
passion  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  spoke  with  great  vehemence.  In  brief, 
the  whole  forty  warriors  grasped  their  tomahawks,  leaped  to  their  feet, 
and  in  a  moment  the  spectacle  was  presented  of  the  whites  and  Indians 
confronting  each  other,  arms  drawn,  and  ready  to  spring  forward  into  a 
death  grapple.  Fortunately,  forbearance  on  one  side  and  a  returning  of 
self-restraint  on  the  other,  averted  the  threatened  catastrophe  and  the 
council  broke  up  for  the  time.  The  following  morning  Tecumseh  sent  an 
apology  for  his  hasty  action. 

The  following  remarkable  coincidence  is  related  in  connection  with 
Tecumseh's  tour  among  the  tribes  prior  to  the  war  during  which  there 
seemed  no  resisting  his  persuasive  eloquence. 

At  a  Creek  town  he  called  upon  Big  Warrior,  a  famous  chief,  made  his  war 
speech,  and  presented  a  bundle  of  wampum  and  a  hatchet.  Big  Warrior  ac- 
cepted them,  but  Tecumseh  read  the  timidity  of  the  chief  in  his  face  and  man- 
ner. Fixing  his  blazing  eyes  upon  him  Tecumseh,  pointing  his  finger,  said  : 


TEOUMSEII. 


HO  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

"  Your  blood  is  white  ;  you  have  taken  my  talk,  and  the  wampum  and  the  hatchet, 
but  you  do  not  mean  to  fight.  I  know  the  reason  ;  you  do  not  believe  the  Great  Spirit 
has  sent  me  ;  you  shall  know.  From  here  I  shall  go  straight  to  Detroit.  When  I  arrive 
there  I  shall  stamp  the  ground  with  my  foot,  and  shake  down  every  house  in  this  village." 

This  was  a  wild  threat,  but  Big  Warrior  and  his  people  were  supersti- 
tious and  began  to  dread  Tecumseh's  arrival  at  Detroit.  They  often  met, 
talked  over  the  strange  affair  and  carefully  estimated  the  time  it  would 
take  Tecumseh  to  reach  the  town.  At  length  the  time  arrived,  and  sure 
enough,  there  came  an  awful  rumbling  of  the  ground,  the  earth  shook,  and 
the  frantic  Indians  ran  to  and  fro,  shouting :  "  Tecumseh  has  got  to 
Detroit."  The  threat  had  been  fulfilled  and  the  warriors  no  longer  hesi- 
tated to  go  to  war  with  the  great  leader.  All  this  was  produced  by  the 
great  earthquake  which  destroyed  New  Madrid  on  the  Mississippi.  The 
coincidence  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  occurred  on  the  very  day  that  Tecumseh 
reached  Detroit  and  in  exact  fulfillment  of  his  threat ;  but  perhaps  the  story 
was  concocted  just  after  the  earthquake,  to  meet  a  "felt  want"  of  the 
situation. 

The  British  historian,  James,  in  closing  his  description  of  the  death  of 
this  famous  chief  and  the  battle  in  which  he  lost  his  life,  observes  : 

"  Thus  fell  the  Indian  warrior,  Tecumseh,  in  the  forty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  He 
was  of  the  Shawnee  tribe,  five  fee't  ten  inches  high,  and  with  more  than  the  usual  stout- 
ness ;  possessed  of  all  the  agility  and  perseverance  of  the  Indian  character.  His  carriage 
was  dignified,  his  eye  penetrating,  his  countenance,  which  even  in  death  betrayed  the 
indications  of  a  lofty  spirit,  rather  of  the  sterner  cast.  Had  he  not  possessed  a  certain 
austerity  of  manners  he  never  could  have  controlled  the  wayward  passions  of  those  who 
followed  him  to  battle.  He  was  of  a  silent  habit ;  but  when  his  eloquence  became 
aroused  into  action  by  the  repeated  encroachments  of  the  Americans,  his  strong  intellect 
could  supply  him  with  a  flow  of  oratory  that  enabled  him,  as  he  governed  in  the  field,  so 
to  preside  in  the  council.  •  Consider  that  in  all  the  territorial  questions  the  ablest 
diplomatists  of  the  United  States  are  sent  to  negotiate  with  the  Indians,  and  one  will 
readily  appreciate  the  loss  sustained  by  the  latter  in  the  death  of  Tecumseh.  Such  a  man 
was  this  unlettered  savage,  and  such  a  man  have  the  Indians  lost  forever." 

The  Black  Hawk  War  is  famous  as  that  in  which  Abraham  Lincoln 
won  such  military  distinction  as  has  been  accorded  to  him  in  early  life. 
It  was  a  losing  war  to  the  Indians,  their  power  being  completely  broken 
in  the  final  battle  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi  about  forty  miles 
above  the  site  of  Prairie  du  Chien.  Black  Hawk  managed  to  make  his 
escape,  but  a  few  days  later  voluntarily  gave  himself  up  to  the  whites  with 
the  characteristic  announcement  that  they  were  welcome  to  kill  him  if 
they  chose  to  do  so.  On  the  27th  of  August.  1833,  shortly  before  noon,  he 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  113 

and    "  The    Prophet "    were  taken  into  the  presence  of  General   Street, 
whom  he  addressed  as  follows : 

"  You  have  taken  me  prisoner  with  all  my  warriors.  I  am  much  grieved,  for  I  expected, 
if  I  did  not  defeat  you,  to  hold  out  much  longer  and  to  give  you  more  trouble  before  I 
surrendered.  I  tried  hard  to  bring  you  into  ambush,  but  your  last  general  understands 
Indian  fighting.  The  first  one  was  not  so  wise.  When  I  saw  that  I  could  not  beat  you 
by  Indian  fighting,  I  determined  to  rush  on  you  and  fight  you  face  to  face.  I  fought 
hard;  but  your  guns  were  well  aimed.  The  bullets  flew  like  birds  in  the  air,  and  whizzed 
by  our  ears  like  the  wind  through  the  trees  in  winter.  My  warriors  fell  around  me  ;  it  be- 
gan to  look  dismal.  I  saw  my  evil  day  at  hand.  The  sun  rose  dim  on  us  in  the  morning 
and  at  night  it  sunk  in  a  dark  cloud,  and  looked  like  a  ball_  of  fire.  That  was  the  last 
sun  that  shone  on  Black  Hawk.  His  heart  is  dead,  and  no  longer  beats  quick  in  his 
bosom.  He  is  now  a  prisoner  to  the  white  man  ;  they  will  do  with  him  as  they  wish.  But 
he  can  stand  torture  and  is  not  afraid  of  death.  He  is  no  coward.  Black  Hawk  is  an 
Indian. 

"He  has  done  nothing  for  which  an  Indian  ought  to  be  ashamed.  He  has  fought  for 
his  countrymen,  the  squaws  and  papooses,  against  white  men  who  came  year  after  year  to 
cheat  him  and  take  away  their  lands.  You  know  the  cause  of  our  making  war.  It  is 
known  to  all  white  men.  They  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  it.  The  white  men  despise  the 
Indians  and  drive  them  from  their  homes.  But  the  Indians  are  not  deceitful.  The  white 
men  speak  bad  of  the  Indian  and  look  at  him  spitefully.  But  the  Indian  does  not  tell 
lies ;  Indians  do  not  steal. 

"An  Indian  who  is  as  bad  as  the  white  men  could  not  live  in  our  nation ;  he  would  be 
put  to  death  and  eaten  by  the  wolves.  The  white  men  are  bad  schoolmasters  ;  they  carry 
false  looks  and  deal  in  false  actions ;  they  smile  in  the  face  of  the  poor  Indian  to  cheat 
him ;  they  shake  them  by  the  hand  to  gain  their  confidence,  to  make  them  drunk,  to  deceive 
them,  and  ruin  our  wives.  We  told  them  to  let  us  alone  and  keep  away  from  us ;  but 
they  followed  on,  and  beset  our  path  as  they  coiled  themselves  among  us  like  a  snake. 
They  poisoned  us  by  their  touch.  We  were  not  safe.  We  lived  in  danger.  We  were 
becoming  like  them,  hypocrites  and  liars,  adulterers,  lazy  drones,  all  talkers  and  no 
workers. 

"We  looked  up  to  the  Great  Spirit.  We  went  to  our  great  father.  We  were  encour- 
aged. His  great  council  gave  us  fair  words  and  big  promises  ;  but  we  got  no  satisfaction. 
Things  were  growing  worse.  There  were  no  deer  in  the  forest.  The  opossum  and  beaver 
were  fled ;  the  springs  were  drying  up,  and  our  squaws  and  papooses  were  without  vict- 
uals to  keep  them  from  starving.  We  called  a  great  council  and  built  a  large  fire.  The 
spirit  of  our  fathers  arose  and  spoke  to  us  to  avenge  our  wrongs  or  die.  We  all  spoke  be- 
fore the  council  fire.  It  was  warm  and  pleasant.  We  set  up  the  war-whoop,  and  dug  up 
the  tomahawk.  Our  knives  were  ready,  and  the  heart  of  Black  Hawk  swelled  high  in  his 
bosom  when  he  led  his  warriors  to  battle.  He  is  satisfied.  He  will  go  to  the  world  of 
spirits  contented.  He  has  done  his  duty.  His  father  will  meet  him  there  and  commend 
him. 

"  Black  Hawk  is  a  true  Indian  and  disdains  to  cry  like  a  woman.  He  feels  for  his  wife, 
his  children,  and  friends.  But  he  does  not  care  for  himself.  He  cares  for  his  nation  and 
the  Indians.  They  will  suffer.  He  laments  their  fate.  The  white  men  do  not  scalp  the 


114  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

head  ;  but  they  do  worse  —  they  poison  the  heart.  It  is  not  pure  with  them.  His  country- 
men will  not  be  scalped,  but  they  will,  in  a  few  years,  become  like  the  white  men,  so  that 
you  can't  trust  them,  and  there  must  be,  as  in  the  white  settlements,  nearly  as  many  offi- 
cers as  men,  to  take  care  of  them  and  keep  them  in  order. 

"  Farewell,  my  nation  !  Black  Hawk  tried  to  save  you  and  avenge  your  wrongs.  He 
drank  the  blood  of  some  of  the  whites.  He  has  been  taken  prisoner  and  his  plans  are 
stopped.  He  can  do  no  more.  He  is  near  his  end.  His  sun  is  setting  and  he  will  rise  no 
more.  Farewell  to  Black  Hawk." 

Black  Hawk  at  this  time  was  about  fifty  years  of  age,  six  feet  in  height 
and  finely  formed.  He,  the  Prophet  Naopope,  and  five  other  distinguished 
chiefs  among  the  prisoners  were  sent  to  Washington  the  following  year. 
On  the  day  after  their  arrival.  April  23,  Black  Hawk  had  a  long  in- 
terview with  President  Jackson,  during  which  he  gave  his  version  of  the 
cause  of  the  war  in  which  occurs  the  following : 

"  We  did  not  expect  to  conquer  the  whites  ;  no.  They  had  too  many  houses,  too  many 
men.  I  took  up  the  hatchet,  for  my  part,  to  revenge  injuries  which  my  people  could  no 
longer  endure.  Had  I  borne  them  longer  without  striking,  my  people  would  have  said, 
Black  Hawk  is  a  woman ;  he  is  too  old  to  be  a  chief ;  he  is  no  Sac.'  These  reflections 
caused  me  to  raise  the  war-whoop.  I  say  no  more  of  it ;  it  is  known  to  you.  Keokuk 
once  was  here  ;  you  took  him  by  the  hand,  and  when  he  wished  to  return  to  his  home  you 
were  willing.  Black  Hawk  expects  that,  like  Keokuk,  we  shall  be  permitted  to  return 
too." 

The  President  assured  him  that  he  was  acquainted  with  all  the  facts  of 
the  war,  and  that  the  chief  need  feel  no  uneasiness  about  the  women  and 
children  whom  they  had  left  at  home.  A  few  days  later  they  were  sent 
to  Fortress  Monroe,  where  he  and  his  companions  were  treated  with  great 
kindness  and  gentle  consideration.  But  no  matter  how  well  treated,  the 
Indians  pined  for  the  free  air  of  their  forests,  for  their  rude  wigwams,  and 
their  families.  Fortunately  an  order  was  received  on  the  4th  of  June  for 
their  return  to  their  homes  and  their  release.  They  were  taken  back  by 
way  of  the  larger  cities,  and  their  progress  was  attended  with  much 
excitement  on  the  part  of  the  citizens.  They  were  lionized,  taken  to  the 
theatres,  dined  and  wined,  and  probably  would  have  been  killed  with  kind- 
ness had  the  thing  been  allowed  to  continue  long.  In  reply  to  an  address 
to  the  Indians  at  the  Exchange  Hotel,  in  Broad  Street,  New  York  City,  Black 
Hawk,  who  was  much  pleased  with  it  and  the  handsome  present  accom- 
panying it,  made  answer : 

•'  BROTHER  :  We  like  your  talk.  We  will  be  friends.  We  like  the  white  people  ; 
they  are  very  kind  to  us.  We  shall  not  forget  it.  Your  counsel  is  good  ;  we  shall  at- 
tend to  it.  Your  valuable  present  shall  go  to  my  squaw  ;  it  pleases  me  very  much.  We 
shall  always  be  friends." 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  115 

No  better  opportunity  could  be  presented  for  exhibiting  the  various 
phases  of  Indian  eloquence,  than  is  found  in  accompanying  Black  Hawk 
and  his  companions  to  the  West,  and  his  meeting  and  reconciliation  with 
Keokuk.  One  of  the  most  interesting  incidents  of  what  may  be  properly 
termed  their  triumphal  tour  was  their  call  upon  the  Seneca  Indians,  at 
the  council  house,  on  their  reservation  in  New  York.  The  Seneca  chief- 
tain, Captain  Pollard  (Karlundawana),  an  old  and  respected  man,  expressed 
his  pleasure  at  meeting  them,  urging  them  to  go  to  their  homes  in  a  peace- 
able frame  of  mind,  to  cultivate  the  earth,  and  nevermore  to  fight  against 
the  white  men. 

Black  Hawk  said,  in  reply  : 

"  Our  aged  brother  of  the  Seneoas,  who  has  spoken  to  us,  has  spoken  the  words  of  a 
good  and  wise  man.  We  are  strangers  to  each  other,  though  we  have  the  same  color,  and 
the  same  Great  Spirit  made  us  all,  and  gave  us  this  country  together.  Brothers,  we  have 
seen  how  great  a  people  the  whites  are.  They  are  very  rich  and  very  strong.  It  is  folly 
for  us  to  fight  with  them.  We  shall  go  home  with  much  knowledge.  For  myself,  I  shall 
advise  my  people  to  be  quiet,  and  live  like  good  men.  The  advice  which  you  gave  us, 
brother,  is  very  good,  and  we  tell  you  now  we  mean  to  walk  the  straight  path  in  future, 
and  to  content  ourselves  with  what  we  have,  and  with  cultivating  our  lands." 

From  Buffalo  the  Indians  were  conveyed  by  water  to  Detroit.  They 
were  now  approaching  the  section  which  had  lately  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  their  people,  and  the  citizens  showed  a  less  friendly  spirit  toward  them. 
They  looked  at  the  dusky  visitors  askance,  and,  it  is  said,  they  were  burned 
in  effigy.  No  violence,  however,  took  place. 

From  Green  Bay  they  had  to  pass  through  the  country  of  the  Menom- 
onees  and  Winnebagos,  who  were  their  bitter  enemies.  To  guard 
against  molestation,  a  detachment  of  troops  accompanied  them  to  Chicago. 
Passing  up  Fox  River  and  down  the  Ouisconsin,  Black  Hawk,  with  much 
depression  of  spirits,  pointed  out  the  favorite  spots  where  once  stood  the 
flourishing  villages  of  his  people. 

The  captives  arrived  at  Fort  Armstrong,  on  the  upper  Mississippi, 
about  the  first  of  August.  They  were  gloomy  and  taciturn  on  entering 
their  own  forests,  the  reminder  of  so  many  sad  occurrences  to  them,  but 
soon  rallied,  and  showed  considerable  vivacity  in  recalling  some  of  their 
amusing  experiences  among  the  whites. 

Fort  Armstrong,  Rock  Island,  had  been  selected  as  the  most  appropriate 
place  for  the  dismissal  of  the  Indians.  The  latter  were  disappointed  at  not 
meeting  friends  to  tell  them  of  their  families.  While  waiting  for  some  of 
them  to  come  in,  they  undid  their  bundles  and  examined  their  presents. 


116 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


They  were  many  and  valuable,  and  were  distributed  with  a  generous  hand 
to  their  old  comrades  when  they  put  in  an  appearance  with  good  news  of 
the  loved  ones. 

Keokuk  was  away  on  a  buffalo  hunt  when  Black  Hawk  arrived,  but 
about  noon  the  following  day  a  great  din  and  shouting  announced  his 

approach.    He  was  seated  in  one  of  two  large 
canoes,   lashed  side  by  side,   and  followed  by  a 
score  of  others,   each   carrying  eight  warriors, 
who  awoke  the  echoes  with  their  weird  songs. 
Ascending  the  river,   they  encamped   on  the 
opposite  side  from  Black  Hawk's  camp. 

Devoting  a  couple  of  hours  to  their  toilets, 
they  resumed  their  wild  singing  and  paddled 
across  the  river.  Keokuk  was  the 
first  to  step  ashore.  He  and  his  com- 
panions were  decorated  with  all  their 
medals  and  ornaments,  and  made  a 
striking  picture.  Turning  to  his  party, 
as  the  last  landed,  Keokuk  said : 

"  The  Great  Spirit  has  sent  our  brother 
back  ;   let  us  shake  hands  in  friendship.". 

Black  Hawk  was  seated  in  front 
of  his  tent  with  his  party.  He  was 
leaning  on  his  cane  and  looking  down 
at  the  ground  in  gloomy  meditation. 
Walking  up  to  the  fallen  chieftain,  Keokuk  extended  his  hand,  and  Black 
Hawk  returned  the  pressure.  Then  Keokuk  saluted  the  rest  of  the  party 
and  sat  down.  His  companions  did  the  same  and  all  remained  silent, 
waiting  for  the  fallen  chieftain  to  speak. 

Fifteen  minutes  of  oppressive  silence  followed,  during  which  strange 
emotions  must  have  stirred  the  breasts  of  the  red  men. 

Seeing  that  Black  Hawk  was  waiting  to  be  addressed,  Keokuk  turned 
to  him  and  inquired  how  long  he  had  been  on  the  road.  He  answered, 
and  then  pipes  were  brought  out  and  lighted,  all  smoking  and  talking 
freely  for  an  hour.  Then  Keokuk  arose,  shook  hands  all  around,  and  de- 
parted with  the  promise  to  return  on  the  morrow,  when  the  grand  council 
was  to  be  held. 

A  large  room  in  the  garrison  was  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  two 
parties.  About  ten  o'clock  Keokuk  appeared  at  the  head  of  a  hundred 


BLACK  HAWK. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  117 

warriors,  and  seated  himself  among  several  of  his  chiefs,  directing  the  rest 
to  place  themselves  behind  him.  This  was  done,  and  profound  stillness 
prevailed  until  the  arrival  of  Black  Hawk  and  his  companions.  As  they 
came  in,  Keokuk  and  his  brother  chiefs  arose  and  shook  hands  with  him 
and  his  companions.  They  moved  around  and  seated  themselves  opposite 
Keokuk.  Black  Hawk  and  his  son  showed  in  their  looks  their  dejection 
and  humiliation,  for  they  felt  that  after  years  of  rivalry  between  him  and 
the  younger  chief,  the  hour  of  triumph  for  the  latter  had  come. 

Major  Garland  was  the  first  to  break  the  silence.  He  said  that  he  was 
glad  to  find  so  much  good  feeling  in  the  tribe  toward  Black  Hawk  and  his 
party.  He  was  confident  from  what  he  had  seen  and  learned  that  they 
would  have  no  more  trouble  among  themselves.  He  had  but  little  to  say, 
as  the  President's  speech  to  Black  Hawk  said  all,  and  it  would  be  read  to 
them.  This  speech  was  interpreted  to  the  Indians,  who  responded  at  the 
end  of  each  sentence. 

Keokuk  then  said  impressively: 

"I  have  listened  to  the  talk  of  our  great  father.  It  is  true;  we  pledged  our  honors,  with 
those  of  our  young  braves,  for  their  liberation.  We  thought  much  of  it;  our  counsels 
were  long;  their  wives  and  children  were  in  our  thoughts.  When  we  talked  of  them  our 
hearts  were  full.  Their  wives  and  children  came  to  us,  which  made  us  feel  like  women; 
but  we  were  men.  The  words  which  we  sent  to  our  great  father  was  one  word,  the  word 
of  all.  The  heart  of  our  great  father  was  good;  he  spoke  like  the  father  of  children.  The 
Great  Spirit  made  his  heart  big  in  council.  We  receive  our  brothers  in  friendship;  our 
hearts  are  good  toward  them.  They  once  listened  to  bad  counsel;  now  their  ears  are  closed. 
I  give  my  hand  to  them;  when  they  shake  it,  they  shake  the  hands  of  all.  I  will  shake 
hands  with  them,  and  then  I  am  done." 

Major  Garland  then  delivered  the  most  humiliating  insult  that  had  ever 
been  put  upon  Black  Hawk.  He  said  he  wished  all  present  clearly  to 
understand  that  the  President  considered  Keokuk  the  principal  chief  of  the 
nation,  and  that  in  the  future  he  should  be  acknowledged  as  the  only  one 
entitled  to  that  distinction.  He  wished  Black  Hawk  to  listen,  and  conform 
to  these  counsels.  The  two  bands  that  had  heretofore  existed  in  the  tribe 
must  be  broken  up. 

This  cutting  speech,  when  translated  to  Black  Hawk,  was  made  worse 
through  the  mistake  of  the  interpreter,  who  represented  Major  Garland  as 
declaring  that  Black  Hawk  must  conform  to  the  counsels  of  Keokuk.  The 
chief  was  infuriated,  and,  rising  to  his  feet  in  a  towering  rage,  replied: 

"I  am  an  old  man;  I  will  not  conform  to  the  counsel  of  anyone;  I  will  act  for  myself; 
no  one  shall  govern  me.  I  am  old;  my  hair  is  gray.  I  once  gave  counsels  to  my  young 


118  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

men;  am  I  to  conform  to  others?  I  shall  soon  go  to  the  Great  Spirit,  where  I  shall  rest. 
What  I  said  to  our  great  father  in  Washington,  I  say  again:  I  will  always  listen  to  him. 
I  am  done." 

It  was  the  last  flicker  of  greatness.  His  excitement  caused  a  stir  among 
the  listeners.  The  interpreter  explained  that  he  was  only  requested  to 
listen  to  the  counsels  of  Keokuk.  Black  Hawk  made  no  reply,  but  sat  ab- 
sorbed in  his  own  gloomy  thoughts.  Keokuk  said  in  an  undertone  to  him: 

"Why  do  you  speak  thus  before  the  white  men?  I  will  speak  for  you;  you  trembled 
and  did  not  mean  what  you  said." 

Black  Hawk  nodded  assent  and  Keokuk  said: 

"Our  brother  who  has  again  come  among  us,  has  spoken,  but  he  spoke  in  wrath; 
his  tongue  was  forked;  he  spoke  not  like  a  man,  a  Sac.  He  knew  his  words  were  bad;  he 
trembled  like  the  oak  whose  roots  have  been  washed  by  many  rains.  He  is  old;  what  he 
said  let  us  forget.  He  says  he  did  not  mean  it;  he  wishes  it  were  forgotten.  I  have 
spoken  for  him.  What  I  have  said  is  his  own  words,  not  mine.  Let  us  say  he  spoke  in 
council  to-day;  that  his  words  were  good.  I  have  spoken." 

That  evening,  Major  Garland  invited  the  principal  chiefs,  including 
Black  Hawk,  to  meet  him  at  his  quarters.  After  a  number  of  speeches 
had  been  made  by  the  chiefs,  Black  Hawk  said  in  a  calm,  but  depressed, 
manner : 

"  I  feel  that  I  am  an  old  man.  Once  I  could  speak,  but  now  I  have  little  to  say.  To- 
day we  meet  many  of  our  brothers.  We  are  glad  to  see  them.  I  have  listened  to  what 
my  brothers  said;  their  hearts  are  good;  they  have  been  like  Sacs  since  I  left  them;  they 
have  taken  care  of  my  wife  and  children,  who  had  no  wigwam.  I  thank  them  for  it;  the 
Great  Spirit  knows  I  thank  them.  I  want  to  see  them.  When  I  left  them  I  expected  to 
return.  I  told  our  great  father  when  in  Washington,  I  would  listen  to  his  counsels.  I  say 
so  to  you.  I  will  listen  to  the  counsel  of  Keokuk.  I  shall  soon  be  far  away.  I  shall  have 
no  village,  no  band;  I  shall  live  alone.  What  I  said  in  council  to-day,  I  wish  forgotten. 
If  it  has  been  put  upon  paper  I  wish  a  mark  to  be  drawn  over  it.  I  did  not  mean  it.  Now 
we  are  alone;  let  us  say  we  will  forget  it.  Say  to  our  great  father  and  Governor  Cass  that 
I  will  listen  to  them.  Many  years  ago,  I  met  Governor  Cass  in  council,  far  across  the 
prairies  to  the  rising  sun.  His  counsels  were  good.  My  ears  were  closed.  I  listened  to 
the  great  father  across  the  waters.  My  father  listened  to  him  whose  band  was  large.  My 
band  was  once  large,  but  now  I  have  no  band.  I  and  my  son  and  all  our  party  thank  our 
great  father  for  what  he  has  done.  He  is  old;  I  am  old;  we  shall  soon  go  to  the  Great 
Spirit,  where  we  shall  rest.  He  sent  us  through  his  great  villages.  We  saw  many  white 
men,  who  treated  us  with  kindness.  We  thank  them.  We  thank  you  and  Mr.  Sprague 
for  coming  with  us.  Your  road  was  long  and  crooked.  We  never  saw  so  many  white 
men  before.  When  you  were  with  us  we  felt  as  though  we  had  some  friends  among 
them.  We  felt  safe.  You  knew  them  all.  When  you  come  upon  the  Mississippi 
again,  you  shall  come  to  my  wigwam.  I  have  none  now.  On  your  road  home,  you  pass 
where  my  village  once  was.  No  one  lives  there  now;  all  are  gone.  I  give  you  my  hand; 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  119 

we  may  never  meet  again.  I  shall  long  remember  you.  The  Great  Spirit  will  be  with  you 
and  your  wives  and  children.  Before  the  sun  rises  I  shall  go  to  my  family.  My  son  will 
be  here  to  see  you  before  you  go.  I  will  shake  hands  with  my  brothers  now,  and  then 
I  am  done." 

No  incident  worthy  of  record  took  place  for  three  years  after  the  liber- 
ation of  Black  Hawk.  A  battle  occurred  between  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  on 
one  hand  and  the  Sioux  on  the  other,  in  the  summer  of 
1837,  our  authorities  having  failed  to  give  the  protection 
to  the  former  that  was  promised.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes 
had  sold  the  best  portions  of  Illinois,  Missouri,  and  Wis- 
consin, amounting  to  26,500,000  acres,  which  included  the 
valuable  lead  mines,  at  three  cents  an  acre  !  They  received 
in  addition,  many  guarantees,  most  of  which  were 
disregarded. 

A  delegation  of  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and  another 
of  Sioux  and  lowas,  visited  Washington  in  Sep- 
tember, 1837,  and  by  the  advice  of  the  President 
were  induced  to  make  a  tour  through  the  coun-  ' 
try,  he  thinking  that  it  would  be  wise  to  im- 
press them  with  our  importance  and  greatness.  MOSES  KEOKUK 

This  delegation  numbered  thirty-five  in  all, 
and  Black  Hawk  was  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
describe  their  tour,  so  similar  in  many  respects  to  the  former  one,  and 
which  was  without  special  incident.  No  doubt  the  delegation  was  suitably 
impressed,  as  have  been  the  numerous  ones  that  have  followed  in  their 
footsteps. 

Black  Hawk,  his  son  Nasheukuk,  and  his  handsome  wife,  attended  a 
ball  by  invitation  at  Fort  Madison,  Wisconsin,  in  honor  of  Washington's 
Birthday,  February  22,  1838.  Black  Hawk  was  present  at  the  same  place 
during  the  celebration  on  the  Fourth  of  July  following.  At  the  table  he 
received  the  honor  of  the  following  sentiment : 

"Our  illustrious  guest.  May  his  declining  years  be  as  calm  as  his  previous  life  has 
been  boisterous  from  warlike  events.  His  present  friendship  with  the  whites  fuHy  entitles 
him  to  a  seat  at  our  board." 

Black  Hawk  responded  with  the  following  sensible  words  : 

"  It  has  pleased  the  Great  Spirit  that  I  am  here  to-day.  The  earth  is  our  mother  and 
we  are  now  permitted  to  look  upon  it.  A  few  snows  ago  I  was  fighting  against  the  white 
people  ;  perhaps  I  was  wrong  ;  let  it  be  forgotten.  I  loved  my  towns  and  corn  fields  on 
the  Rock  River ;  it  was  a  beautiful  country.  I  fought  for  it,  but  now  it  is  yours.  Keep 


120  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

it  as  the  Sacs  did.  I  was  once  a  warrior,  but  now  I  am  poor.  Keokuk  has  been  the  cause 
of  what  I  am,  but  I  do  not  hate  him.  I  love  to  look  upon  the  Mississippi.  I  have  looked 
upon  it  from  a  child.  I  love  that  beautiful  river.  My  home  has  always  been  upon  its 
banks.  I  thank  you  for  your  friendship.  I  will  say  no  more." 

Black  Hawk  died  October  3,  1838.  Many  whites  as  well  as  Indians, 
assembled  at  his  lodge  to  pay  their  last  respects  to  the  departed  chieftain 
and  warrior.  He  had  requested  that  he  might  be  buried  as  were  the  Sac 
chieftains  in  the  olden  times.  His  wishes  were  followed.  Instead  of  mak- 
ing a  grave,  his  body  was  placed  upon  the  ground  in  a  sitting  posture,  with 
his  cane  between  his  knees  and  grasped  in  his  hands.  Slabs  and  rails  were 
then  piled  about  him.  Such  was  the  end  and  burial  of  Black  Hawk. 

The  following  winter  his  bones  were  stolen,  and  a  year  later  were 
found  in  the  possession  of  a  surgeon  at  Quincy,  Illinois.  Governor  Lucas,  of 
Iowa,  hearing  of  the  outrage,  compelled  them  to  be  restored  to  his  friends. 

It  may  have  been  on  the  very  spot  where  Black  Hawk  was  laid  to  rest 
that  Joliet  and  Marquette  had  their  first  meeting  with  the  natives  after 
their  discovery  of  the  northern  Mississippi,  just  one  hundred  and  sixty-five 
years  before,  an  account  of  which  we  have  already  given. 

Probably  the  most  remarkable  Indian  now  in  the  Sac  and  Fox  tribe 
is  Moses  Keokuk,  a  full-blood  Sac,  and  for  many  years  principal  chief  of 
the  tribe.  He  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  Christian  religion  as  taught  by  the 
whites,  and  a  wealthy,  upright  citizen,  wielding  a  power  for  good  among 
his  people.  Moses  Keokuk  (the  word  Keokuk  meaning  "  walking  fox  "  in 
the  Sac  language)  is  a  son  of  the  chief  Keokuk,  in  whose  honor  the  city  of 
Keokuk,  Iowa,  is  named. 

In  this  connection  we  might  appropriately  treat  of  the  question  of 
Indian  education  and  enlightenment  under  modern  methods,  but  for  a 
special  reason  which  will  appear  in  due  course,  this  is  deferred  to  a  future 
chapter. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  121 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
GAME  IN  THE  GREAT  WEST. 

THE  AViLD   HORSE — METHODS    OF  TAKING    THE  WILD  HORSE  —  THE  BUFFALO  —  THE  CHASE  — 
CAPTAIN  BALDWIN'S  ADVENTURES  —  THE  SURROUND  —  THE  ANTELOPE  —  THE  WOLF 
—  SMALL    GAME — BUFFALO  BILL  —  DEER — BIG   HORN — WOLF 
HUNTING  IN  THE  INDIAN  TERRITORY  —  BEAR  HUNT- 
ING—  GAME  OF  THE  NORTHWEST. 

OR  centuries  Indian  tribes  were  continually  at  war  with  each 
other  before  the  white  man  came  to  America.  After  that  event 
their  territory  became  more  limited,  and  the  conditions  under 
which  we  find  them  in  modern  times  was  forced  upon  them. 
They  gradually  came  under  the  direction  and  control  of  the 
white  race.  Though  the  feuds  between  the  tribes  did  not  en- 
tirely  cease  they  grew  less  frequent,  because  attention  was 
called  in  another  direction  ;  to  continual  encroachments  by  the 
common  enemy  of  all.  When  the  tribes  living  east  of  the  Mississippi 
were  driven  out  upon  the  plains  country  they  gradually  obtained 
horses  and  adopted  a  purely  nomadic  life.  It  is  true  that  in  some  instan- 
ces they  had  utilized  dogs  for  transportation  purposes,  especially  in  the 
north,  but  only  to  a  limited  extent.  Until  they  obtained  horses,  the 
canoe  was  their  main  dependence  for  artificial  transportation.  This  of 
course  confined  them  to  the  lakes  and  water  courses.  It  was  when  they 
acquired  horses  from  the  Mexicans  that  they  became  a  roving,  or  nomadic, 
people.  The  horse  enabled  them  to  go  on  extensive  expeditions  and  ac- 
quire a  knowledge  of  the  country  and  skill  as  landsmen.  Their  expertness 
finally  came  to  be  most  extraordinary.  They  could  travel  hundreds,  even 
thousands  of  miles  with  great  rapidity,  sometimes  being  gone  for  six 
months  or  a  year ;  and  returning  to  their  own  district  of  country  find  their 
own  tribe,  though  it  may  have  been  moving  from  place  to  place  during  the 
entire  time  of  their  absence.  There  are  many  Indians  now  living  who  have 
been  on  excursions  covering  territory  a  hundred  miles  north  of  the  British- 
American  boundary,  and  three  hundred  miles  south  of  the  Mexican  border. 
The  horse  also  facilitated  their  chase  and  taking  of  game  for  food.  The 
wild  horse,  which  descended  from  those  imported  by  Cortez  and  others, 


122  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

was  found  in  considerable  numbers  in  northern  Mexico  and  Texas,  but  the 
difficulty  of  taking  them  was  very  great.  There  was  no  other  animal  on  the 
plains  so  wild  and  sagacious.  So  adroit  were  they  that  they  would 
always  run  on  sight  of  man,  and  once  in  motion  would  rarely  stop  until 
they  had  placed  a  long  and  safe  interval  between  themselves  and  their 
pursuers. 

In  a  band  of  wild  horses  may  be  seen  all  colors :  nearly  milk-white,  jet- 
black,  cream  color,  iron-gray,  pinto,  sorrel,  bay,  etc.  Their  manes  were 
profuse,  hanging  in  wild  profusion  over  their  necks  and  faces,  and  their 
long  tails  swept  the  ground.  It  was  rare  that  a  human  being  could  by 
stealth  approach,  or  by  patient  waiting  find  himself  near  a  band  of  horses 
at  their  ease ;  but  when  he  did  he  witnessed  an  ideal  scene  of  freedom  and 
beauty  in  the  graceful  gambols  of  the  proud  and  playful  descendants  of  the 
faithful  slaves  of  Cortes  and  Alvarado,  an  animal  new  to  America,  but 
thriving  here  even  better  than  at  home. 

There  were  various  methods  of  taking  the  wild  horse.  One  was  for  the 
rifleman  to  steal  up  under  the  cover  of  some  rock  or  bush  or  deep  ravine, 
or  lie  in  wait  concealed  near  some  place  where  they  were  accustomed  to 
go  for  water,  and  watch  his  opportunity  to  "crease"  them.  This  is  done 
by  firing  a  bullet  through  the  upper  part  of  the  neck,  striking  a  certain 
nerve  or  cord  in  such  a  way  as  to  temporarily  paralyze  the  animal.  Be- 
fore his  recovery  the  hunter  would  run  up  and  confine  him  with  stout  cords 
or  lariats.  It  was  a  difficult  performance,  and  very  rarely  successful.  A 
surer  way  to  take  him  was  for  the  huntsmen  to  separate  into  bands  in  the 
time  of  the  full  moon,  and  take  stations  on  the  plains  at  points  where  the 
band  of  wild  horses  was  accustomed  to  roam.  Then  one  or  two  men  wo'uld 
pursue  the  band,  the  pursuit  to  be  taken  up  by  their  prearranged  relays  as 
the  circumstances  would  enable  them  to  come  in  with  their  fresh  horses ; 
until  in  the  course  of  time  the  pursued  animals  became  exhausted.  But  it 
was  easier  for  the  Indians  to  steal  the  domesticated  horse  from  his  owner, 
or  raise  the  animals  in  their  safe  camps,  hundreds  of  miles  away  from  any 
settlement. 

With  the  horse  they  could  easily  take  the  bison,  commonly  called  buf- 
falo, which  had  always  been  the  plains  Indian's  main  stay  and  support. 
It  furnished  him  with  splendid  robes  to  protect  him  from  the  cold  of  win- 
ter. Its  hide,  with  that  of  the  elk,  furnished  him  warm  shelter  and  cloth- 
ing, while  the  venison  and  buffalo  meat  supplied  him  with  an  abundance 
of  wholesome  and  toothsome  food.  The  vast  region  extending  from  the 
Rio  Grande  through  Texas,  eastern  New  Mexico  and  Colorado,  the  Indian 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


123 


Territory,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  the  Dakotas,  Wyoming,  Montana,  and  the 
plains  of  British  America,  was  the  pasture  ground  of  millions  of  buffaloes.  I 
think  it  is  safe  to  say  that  from  the  crest  of  a  mesa  or  some  high  butte  1 
have  frequently  seen  from  twenty  to  thirty  thousand  within  a  radius  of  ten 
or  fifteen  miles.  Within  the  past  decade  the  buffalo,  as  well  as  the  wild 

horse  of  the  plains,  has  become  entirely  extinct, 
the  last  remnants  of  both  having  been  run 
down  and  killed  or  taken  in  the  vicinity  of 
that  strange  section  overlooked  by  surveying 
parties  in  laying  out  the  boundaries  of  Kansas, 
the  Indian  Territory,  Texas,  New  Mexico,  and 

Colorado,  and 
which  acquired 
thereby  the  sin- 
gular and  signifi- 
cant name  of 
"No  Man's 
Land."  In  the 
Southwest  they 
were  practically 
exterminated 
between  the 
years  1872  and 
1877,  while  the 
same  occurred  in 
the  Northwest 
between  the 
years  1878  and 
1885. 

It  may  not  be 
uninteresting  to 

give  somewhat  in  detail  the  Indian's  mode  of  hunting  the  buffalo  before 
the  white  man  came  and  destroyed  the  game.  The  chase  of  the  buffalo 
was  the  Indian's  chief  amusement  as  well  as  his  chief  means  of  live- 
lihood, and  after  his  acquisition  of  the  horse,  was  done  almost  invariably  on 
horseback  ;  formerly  with  bow  and  lance,  latterly  with  rifle  also.  In  this 
exercise  he  became  wonderfully  expert,  and  was  able  to  kill  these  huge 
beasts  with  great  ease.  Mounted  on  his  strong,  fleet  "  Indian  pony,"  well 
trained  for  the  chase,  he  dashed  off  at  full  speed  amongst  the  herd  and 

M— 8 


CREASING  THE  WILD  HORSE. 


124 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


discharged  his  deadly  arrow  to  their  hearts  from  his  horse's  back.  This 
horse  was  the  fleetest  animal  of  the  prairie,  and  easily  brought  his 
rider  alongside  of  his  game.  Both  the  horse  and  his  rider  had  been 
stripped  beforehand  of  shield,  dress  and  saddle,  everything  which  might  in 
the  least  encumber  or  handicap  the  horse  for  speed,  the  Indian  carrying 
only  bow  and  quiver  with  half  a  dozen  arrows  drawn  from  it  and  held 
lightly  and  loosely  in  his  left  hand  ready  for  instant  use.  With  a  trained 
horse  the  Indian  rider  had  little  use  for  the  line  which  was  fastened  with 
a  noose  around  the  under  jaw,  passing  loosely  over  the  horse's  neck  and 
trailing  behind,  passing  to  the  left  side  of  the  rider.  The  word  lariat  is 
from  the  Spanish,  lariata.  The  following  derivation,  probably  fanciful, 
is  also  given.  The  early  French  traders  in  the  country  named  the  line  or 


INDIANS  KILLING  BUFFALOES  IN  SUMMER. 


halter  'Tarret"  or  stop;  it  being  as  they  seem  to  have  thought,  used  to  stop 
rather  than  guide  the  horse.  The  Englishmen  coming  subsequently  upon 
the  scene  accepted  the  name  with  anglicized  spelling,  "lariat."  Further 
south,  toward  the  Rio  Grande,  the  Spaniards  gave  it  the  name  of  "lazo" 
meaning  a  net,  or  entanglement,  which  was  afterwards  anglicized  to  lasso, 
and  this  name  as  well  as  lariat  is  now  in  common  use.  It  is  used  for  a  great 
variety  of  purposes ;  to  stop,  to  guide,  to  secure  the  animal,  to  throw  him  and 
to  bind  him  when  down.  All  this  the  Indians  do  with  great  skill.  I  have  seen 
Rary's  method  of  subjugating  vicious  horses  excelled  by  the  skill  of  the  In- 
dian in  the  use  of  the  lariat  as  he  tangles  the  horse,  throws  and  confines  him, 
and  finally  does  whatever  he  likes  with  him  without  seriously  injuring  him. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  125 

Returning  to  the  chase,  the  approach  was  made  upon  the  right  side  of 
the  game,  the  arrow  being  thrown  to  the  left  at  the  instant  the  horse  passed 
the  animal's  heart,  or  some  vital  organ,  which  received  the  deadly  weapon 
"to  the  feather."  In  fact,  Indians  have  been  known  to  send  them  with 
such  force  as  to  drive  them  completely  through  the  buffalo. 

When  pursuing  a  large  herd  the  Indian  generally  rode  close  in  the  rear 
until  he  had  selected  the  animal  he  wished  to  kill.  He  separated  it  from  the 
throng  by  watching  for  a  favorable  opportunity  and  dashing  his  horse  be- 
tween, forcing  it  off  by  itself  and  killing  it  without  being  himself  trampled 
to  death,  as  he  was  liable  to  be  by  operating  too  far  within  the  massed  herd. 

The  training  of  the  horse  was  such  that  it  quickly  knew  the  object  of 
its  rider's  selection,  and  exerted  every  energy  to  come  to  close  quarters. 
In  the  chase  the  rider  leaned  well  forward  and  off  from  its  side,  with  his 
bow  firmly  drawn  ready  for  the  shot  which  was  given  the  instant  he  was 
opposite  the  animal's  body.  The  horse  being  instinctively  afraid  of  the 
huge  animal,  kept  his  eye  upon  him,  and  the  moment  he  reached  the  near- 
est proximity  required,  and  heard  the  twang  of  the  bow  or  the  crack  of 
the  rifle,  sheered  instantly  though  gradually  off,  to  escape  the  horns  of 
the  infuriated  beast,  which  were  often  instantly  turned  and  presented  for 
the  reception  of  the  pursuer.  These  frightful  collisions  would  occasion- 
ally occur,  notwithstanding  the  wonderful  sagacity  of  the  horse  and  the 
caution  of  the  rider. 

The  buffalo  on  being  pursued  will  sometimes  turn  very  quickly  at  his  pur- 
suer with  savage  ferocity,  and  many  an  Indian  as  well  as  an  occasional  white 
man  has  been  thrown  high  in  the  air  over  the  back  of  the  buffalo,  or  gored 
to  death.  Occasionally  the  animal  will  turn  before  being  wounded.  This 
has  occurred  in  my  own  experience  in  a  hot  chase  upon  the  Kansas  plains. 
Sometimes  also  the  cow  will  turn  in  defense  of  her  young.  Captain  Frank 
D.  Baldwin  of  the  Fifth  Infantry  once  had  a  powerful  bull  turn  upon  him 
quickly,  catching  his  horse  fairly,  and  throwing  both  horse  and  rider  over 
his  back.  In  fact  this  officer  had  a  number  of  most  remarkable  escapes 
both  from  buffaloes  and  from  wolves  within  my  knowledge,  and  as  illustrat- 
ing the  characteristics  of  both  these  species  of  large  game,  I  may  instance 
in  some  detail  two  or  three  of  his  dangerous  adventures.  The  one  now 
referred  to  occurred  in  1870,  when  he  was  stationed  at  Fort  Hays,  Kan- 
sas. One  day  in  September  he  received  a  note  from  a  friend  in  Chicago 
saying  that  he  with  two  others  would  come  out  to  take  a  buffalo  hunt. 

Baldwin  was  quartermaster  of  the  post  at  that  time.  There  was  a  large 
amount  of  transportation,  and  a  great  many  extra  saddle  animals.  Among 


126  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

the  horses  which  he  used  himself  was  an  extra  fine  "  buffalo  horse."  Such 
a  one  is  an  animal  that  will  ride  into  a  herd  without  fear  and  seem  to  be 
as  keen  as  his  rider  to  overtake  a  particular  buffalo.  As  soon  as  he  com- 
prehends which  particular  animal  his  rider  desires  to  secure  he  will  fol- 
low him  and  run  close  to  his  side,  and  the  moment  the  shot  is  fired,  he 
will  instantly  turn  from  the  buffalo  to  avoid  the  invariable  charge  which 
the  wounded  animal  makes  in  order  to  gore  and  punish  his  pursuer.  This 
horse  was  one  of  the  most  perfect  of  its  kind,  and  it  was  no  poor  horse- 
man, that  could  remain  on  his  back  after  firing  the  shot,  unless  he  thor- 
oughly understood  his  habits.  Of  course  when  the  friend  and  his  party 
came  it  was  incumbent  upon  Baldwin  to  give  him  the  best  buffalo  horse, 
while  he,  himself,  was  obliged  to  ride  an  untrained  one  from  the  corral. 

They  rode  out  with  great  expectations  of  having  a  fine  time,  and  after 
traveling  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  from  the  post,  discovered  their  first  herd 
of  buffaloes.  Baldwin  had  warned  the  gentleman  who  was  riding  his  horse 
of  the  necessity  of  watching  him  after  firing,  but  feeling  confident  that  in 
the  excitement  of  his  first  chase  he  would  forget  all  about  it,  kept  along 
close  beside  him ;  and  sure  enough,  the  first  shot  he  fired  when  about  fifty 
yards  from  the  buffalo,  the  animal  made  his  sharp  turn,  and  off  went  the  rider. 

After  getting  him  up  and  on  the  horse  again,  Baldwin  thought  he 
would  show  what  he  could  do  himself ;  so  with  the  green  horse  on  which  he 
was  mounted,  he  started  for  a  fine  bull  and  soon  overtook  him.  By  a  little 
urging  he  was  able  to  get  the  horse  close  beside  him,  and  then  fired,  mor- 
tally wounding  the  animal ;  but  the  horse  instead  of  trying  to  escape  the 
brute,  kept  along  by  his  side.  Almost  instantly  after  the  shot  was  fired, 
the  buffalo  turned  and  caught  the  horse  just  behind  the  flanks,  and  imbedded 
his  horns,  tearing  the  horse  to  pieces  and  throwing  Baldwin  over  the 
buffalo,  where  he  alighted  on  his  head  and  shoulders  and  remained  uncon- 
scious for  several  minutes.  When  he  came  to  his  senses  the  buffalo  was 
standing  there,  bleeding  at  the  mouth  and  nose,  with  his  four  legs  spread 
out  and  in  the  last  agonies  of  death,  but  looking  fiercely  at  Baldwin, 
watching  for  the  least  indication  of  life ;  and  had  the  latter  made  the  least 
movement  as  he  no  doubt  would  have  done  if  he  had  had  the  strength,  he 
would  have  been  gored  to  death.  The  parts  of  the  horse  were  still  hang- 
ing to  the  horns  of  the  buffalo.  Fortunately  this  condition  of  affairs  re- 
mained for  a  minute  only,  when  the  buffalo  fell  dead  with  his  head  within 
a  few  feet  of  Baldwin's  person. 

Taking  the  saddle  off  his  horse,  and  getting  his  pistol,  in  a  few 
minutes  a  fresh  horse  was  brought.  By  this  time  nearly  all  the  party 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  127 

had  gathered  at  the  place,  and  as  this  was  the  first  buffalo  that 
most  of  them  had  ever  seen  killed,  they  insisted  that  they  must  have 
the  head  and  other  parts  of  the  animal  as  trophies  of  the  hunt.  The 
head  now  decorates  one  of  the  offices  of  a  prominent  railroad  official  in 
Chicago. 

What  was  regarded  by  the  Indians  as  royal  sport  has  been  denominated 
the  "  surround."  It  required  a  body  of  three  or  four  hundred  warriors  to 
perform  it  satisfactorily.  First  a  few  runners  were  sent  out  to  discover  a 
herd  of  buffaloes,  frequently  selecting  one  containing  as  many  as  two  hun- 
dred. Then  dividing  the  force  of  warriors,  and  selecting  some  four  or  five 
groups  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  each,  these  would  take  position  outside 
the  moving  body  that  was  to  encircle  the  herd,  at  prominent  points  where 
they  could  give  chase  to  and  destroy  any  buffalo  that  might  break  through 
the  closing-in-line  and  escape.  The  main  body  then  proceeded  to  sur- 
round the  herd.  They  went  in  groups  to  different  sides  of  the  herd  and 
then  gradually  approached  from  all  directions,  closing  the  animals  in  and 
setting  them  to  running  in  a  circle  within  that  formed  by  the  converging 
and  contracting  line  of  warriors.  So  skillfully  was  this  managed  that 
they  would  keep  the  herd  in  motion,  alternating  in  the  chase  and  firing, 
until  they  had  destroyed  the  entire  number.  This  must  have  approached 
more  nearly  than  any  other  sport  to  the  excitement  of  a  battle,  exhibiting 
the  same  skillful  horsemanship  and  marksmanship  without  the  attendant 
danger  to  themselves. 

In  the  dead  of  winter,  when  the  snow  lay  deep  in  the  extreme  North 
and  horses  could  not  be  brought  into  the  chase  to  advantage,  the  Indian 
would  run  upon  the  surface  of  the  snow  by  the  aid  of  snowshoes,  while 
the  great  weight  of  the  buffaloes,  sinking  them  deep  even  when  the  snow 
was  heavily  encrusted,  rendered  them  easy  victims  to  the  bow  or  lance  of 
their  pursuers.  The  snow  being  blown  from  the  tops  and  sides  of  the  hills, 
leaving  the  bare  grass  for  the  buffaloes  to  feed  upon,  would  drift  in  the  low- 
lands and  ravines  to  a  great  depth.  When  closely  pursued  the  buffalo 
would  endeavor  to  lunge  through  this  snow  but  would  soon  be  hopelessly 
wedged  in  and  become  an  easy  prey  to  the  Indian  hunter.  The  snowshoes 
were  made  in  many  forms,  two  or  three  feet  in  length  and  a  foot  or  more 
in  width,  of  hoops  bent  around  for  the  frame  with  a  netting  of  strings  of 
rawhide  woven  across,  on  which  their  feet  rested  and  to  which  they  were 
fastened  with  straps  or  thongs.  With  them  the  Indians  would  glide  over 
the  snow  with  great  ease  and  astonishing  rapidity.  Another  method  of 
the  Indian  was  to  disguise  himself  under  the  skin  of  a  wolf,  and  crawl  up 


128 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


on  his  hands  and  knees  until  within  a  few  rods  of  an  unsuspecting 
group  of  buffaloes  and  easily  shoot  down  the  fattest  of  the  herd. 

The  fleet-footed  antelope  roamed  the  plains  country  in  countless  num- 
bers, and  the  prairie  dog  established  "  towns "  of  vast  extent,  where  it 
lived  in  seeming  amity  with  the  owl  and  the  rattlesnake. 

There  were  several  varieties  of  wolves  on  the  plains,  the  most  numerous 
being  the  coyote  and  the  most  formidable  being  the  gray  wolf,  often  as 

large  as  a  Newfoundland    dog. 
They  were  gregarious,being  some- 
times seen  in  packs  of  fifty  or  sixty. 
They  were    always   to   be   seen 
following  about  in  the  vicinity  of 
herds  of    buffaloes, 
standing    ready    to 
pick    the    bones  of 
those    the    hunters 
left  on  the  ground, 
or  to  overtake 
"or     devour 
those  that 
were  wound- 
ed, and  which 
consequently 
fell   an   easy 
prey  to  them. 
While     the 
herd  of  buffa- 
loes were  to- 
gether   they 
seemed     to 

have  little  dread  of  the  wolf,   and   al- 

lowed them    to    come  close  to  the 

herd.     It  was  this  habit  of    the   wolf 

which  suggested  the  above  described  stratagem.  When  the  buffaloes 
were  abundant  these  wolves  were  harmless  to  man,  but  as  the  buffaloes 
diminished  in  number,  and  the  food  supply  became  precarious,  they  grew 
ferocious  when  made  ravenous  by  hunger. 

During  my  campaign  in  January,  1875,  about  ninety  miles  west  of  Fort 
Sill,  Indian  Territory,  Captain  Baldwin  and  I  were  one  day  quite  a  long 


HUNTING  BUFFALOES  IN  WINTER 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  129 

distance  in  advance  of  the  command,  looking  over  the  country.  The  cold 
was  so  intense  that  we  had  dismounted  and  were  walking  to  keep  warm, 
leading  our  horses  over  the  thin,  crisp  snow.  We  were  about  two  hundred 
yards  apart  when  we  discovered  two  great  gray  wolves.  They  were  nearly 
white  and  the  largest  I  have  ever  seen.  They  were  about  five  hundred 
yards  to  the  right  and  front  of  Baldwin,  who  was  on  my  right,  and  moved 
very  slowly  and  independently  toward  him.  We  both  mounted,  and  just 
as  I  joined  Baldwin,  the  wolves  saw  the  head  of  the  column  appear,  where- 
upon they  leisurely  moved  away.  In  referring  to  this  occurrence,  Captain 
Baldwin  gave  me  an  account  of  an  incident  that  happened  to  him  in  May, 
1866,  which,  using  his  own  language,  is  as  follows: 

"  I  was  stationed  at  Fort  Harker,  Kansas,  in  command  of  a  company  of  the  Thirty- 
seventh  Infantry.  Fort  Harker  was  located  on  the  overland  stage  route  from  Fort  Riley 
to  Denver,  and  after  leaving  Fort  Harker  it  was  unsafe  for  anyone  to  travel  in  daylight 
except  with  a  good  escort  of  troops. 

"  In  December  of  this  year  the  Indians  became  so  bad  that  it  was  necessary  to  stop 
every  other  stage  at  Harker,  and  run  through  with  two  stages,  one  loaded  with  United 
States  mail,  and  the  other  with  troops.  In  addition  to  this,  at  every  mail-station  where 
they  kept  the  relay  of  horses,  we  had  a  good  body  of  troops  to  protect  the  station.  In  the 
month  of  December  it  was  my  turn  in  regular  detail  to  guard  a  section  of  sixty  miles  of 
this  mail -line.  I  had  four  stations,  with  twenty  men  at  each  station,  and  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  men  that  I  used  to  load  onto  the  extra  coach  and  the  mail-coach.  I  was  obliged 
to  inspect  these  stations  at  least  once  a  week,  usually  making  the  ride  in  the  night,  going 
the  entire  distance  of  sixty  miles  in  one  night  and  back  the  next. 

"  On  one  of  these  trips  I  stopped  about  thirty  miles  from  the  fprt  to  have  a  buffalo 
hunt,  and  hunted  all  day,  but  at  night  I  was  obliged  to  start  back  for  the  post.  1  left  this 
thirty-mile  station  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  in  a  light  snowstorm,  with  a  toler- 
ably fresh  horse  that  was  both  strong  and  spirited.  I  was  entirely  alone,  and  armed  only 
with  a  small  36  calibre  pistol,  depending  almost  entirely  upon  my  horse  to  escape  any 
danger  from  Indians,  and  not  anticipating  danger  from  any  other  source. 

"  I  had  ridden  about  ten  miles  when  it  began  to  grow  dark.  My  horse  taking  an  easy 
trot,  I  was  rather  enjoying  the  ride.  1  had  noticed  previous  to  this  the  howling  of  the 
wolves,  but  had  paid  very  little  attention  to  it.  As  I  rode  along,  however,  I 
noticed  that  this  howling  began  to  get  closer,  and  at  length  was  aroused  from  my  reverie 
by  the  bark  and  howl  of  two  or  three  wolves  very  close  to  me.  Looking  back  I  saw  two 
coyotes  and  one  big  prairie  or  '  lobo '  wolf  following  close  behind  me,  and  howling  their 
utmost.  This  rather  startled  the  horse  as  you  may  be  sure  it  also  did  me.  I  increased  my 
speed,  but  still  they  gained  on  me,  and  it  wasn't  long  before  their  number  grow  to  a  dozen 
or  more,  and  the  distance  between  them  and  my  horse  was  very  much  lessened. 

"  I  began  to  appreciate  the  danger,  and  realized  for  the  first  time  that  I  had  a  weapon 
with  which  it  was  very  doubtful  whether  I  could  defend  myself  against  such  ravenous 
beasts  as  these.  I  recalled  the  fact  that  just  before  leaving  I  had  counted  the  number  of 
rounds  of  ammunition  I  had,  which  was  just  forty-nine. 


130 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


"  I  had  left  the  stage  route,  intending  to  go  to  the  post  by  a  trail  which  would  save 
me  something  more  than  five  miles  in  distance,  and  as  it  was  dark  I  had  no  hopes  of  gain- 
ing one  of  the  stations  along  the  route,  but  was  obliged  to  keep  to  the  trail,  trusting  to 
my  mount  to  take  me  out  of  what  had  now  become  a  real  danger.  The  wolves  kept  gain- 
ing on  me  until  they  had  got  within  a  very  short  distance  before  I  fired  the  first  shot  at 
them,  which  fortunately  disabled  one  of  their  number  to  the  extent  that  the  blood  ran  from 
him,  and  he  began  to  howl,  whereupon  the  whole  pack  pounced  upon  him  and  tore  him  to 
pieces.  This  gave  me  a  little  start  of  one  or  two  hundred  yards  before  they  commenced 
following  again.  Every  shot  I  fired  was  with  the  greatest  care,  and  it  was  very  seldom 
that  I  missed  disabling  or  killing  one  of  them. 

"Afraid  of  tiring  my  horse  at  the  start,  I  rode  very  carefully.  The  number  of  the 
wolves  increased  until  there  were  not  less  than  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  of  them,  and  they 


CAPTAIN  BALDWIN  CHASED  BY  WOLVES. 


followed  me  for  at  least  twenty  miles, 
cutting  my  horse  in  the  rear,  often 
getting  almost  in  his  front,  and  ena- 
bling me  to  shoot  from  right  to  left, 
firing  when  the  animals  were  not  four 
feet  distant  from  me.  Fortunately  I 
ran  through  a  large  herd  of  buffaloes, 
which  I  think  diverted  a  large  portion  of  the  wolves  from  following  me.  Still  some  of 
them  kept  after  me  until  I  got  within  five  miles  of  the  post,  at  which  point  I  only  had  four 
rounds  of  ammunition  left,  and  felt  that  it  was  necessary  to  make  a  supreme  effort  to 
escape  from  them.  My  horse  was  nearly  used  up,  and  was  bleeding  from  the  wounds  of 
the  wolves,  but  I  put  spurs  to  him,  urging  him  to  his  utmost  speed,  and  reached  the  bank 
of  the  Smoky  Hill  River,  on  the  side  of  which  the  post  was  located,  completely  exhausted 
from  fatigue  and  excitement,  and  my  horse  dropped  dead  before  I  could  get  the  saddle 
off  of  him.  I  then  waded  the  river  though  it  was  filled  with  floating  ice." 

In  all  that  country  ranged  by  the  buffalo,  was,  and  is  still  to  some 
extent,  found  the  prairie  chicken.  This  bird  is  also  found  in  great  num- 
bers east  of  that  belt,  in  the  States  of  Iowa,  Illinois  and  Minnesota.  This 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  131 

region  during  the  spring  and  autumn  is  also  a  stopping  place  in  the  haunts 
of  the  water  fowl,  snipe,  curlew,  wild  ducks  and  wild  geese  of  every 
variety. 

There  is  an  old  saying  on  the  plains  that  "when  an  Indian  wants  meat, 
he  hunts  game ;  when  he  wants  sport,  he  hunts  the  white  man."  My 
personal  experience  with  game  and  hunting  has  been  somewhat  limited. 
During  the  months  and  years  that  I  was  in  that  remote  wild  country  of 
the  West,  most  of  my  time  was  devoted  to  hunting  hostile  Indians,  and 
avoiding  being  ambushed  or  surprised  by  them.  During  my  experience 
in  Kansas  in  the  early  part  of  1870,  I  found  some  leisure,  however,  to  de- 
vote to  hunting  buffaloes  with  General  Ouster,  who  had  a  cavalry  command 
near  mine,  and  who  was  well  equipped  with  horses  and  a  large  pack  of 
dogs.  I  also  found  much  healthful  exercise  and  recreation  in  hunting 
prairie  chickens  and  quail  over  the  rolling  prairies  of  Kansas,  where  there 
was  plenty  of  cover  in  the  wild  grass,  which  yet  was  not  so  high  but  that 
we  could  see  the  intelligent  and  well-trained  setters  and  pointers  work  to 
perfection.  I  preferred  the  prairie  chicken  to  the  quail  as  being  a  much 
better  mark  as  well  as  a  finer  bird.  The  wild  duck  could  be  found  in 
great  numbers  at  that  time  in  western  Kansas.  In  the  timbered  reaches 
of  the  "  Rockies  "  the  blue  grouse  are  quite  abundant.  This  bird  is  much 
like  the  prairie  chicken,  of  dark  plumage,  and,  with  the  rarer  pine  hen, 
is  much  esteemed  for  its  delicate,  sweet  flesh.  It  is  rather  too  stupid  a 
bird  to  afford  much  sport  with  the  shotgun,  for  when  it  lights  in  a  pine 
tree  it  cannot  easily  be  made  to  take  wing  again.  These  birds  show 
much  skill  in  drawing  the  hunter  away  from  the  young  brood  concealed 
in  the  grass  or  underbrush.  They  will  nutter  along  in  a  seemingly  half- 
exhausted  way  just  in  advance  of  the  pursuer,  enticing  him  on  until  a  safe 
distance  is  attained. 

During  the  construction  of  the  trans-continental  railroads  a  large 
amount  of  game  was  killed  for  the  use  of  the  men  employed  in  that  work. 
In  this  way  William  F.  Cody  made  his  reputation  as  a  buffalo  hunter. 
He  was  at  that  time  a  young  man  in  the  twenties,  tall,  stalwart  and  of 
magnificent  physique ;  one  of  the  handsomest  and  most  powerful  men  I 
have  ever  known,  with  locks  of  a  golden  hue,  large,  brilliant,  dark  eyes 
and  perfect  features.  He  was  a  daring  rider,  and  a  most  expert  rifleman. 
He  excelled  in  the  rush  after  game,  and  could  kill  more  buffaloes  during  a 
single  run  than  any  other  man  I  have  ever  known.  He  not  only  took 
the  risks  of  a  desperate  chase,  but  he  and  his  party  had  to  be  con- 
stantly on  the  lookout  for  Indians.  Under  his  contract,  he,  for  quite  a 


132  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

long  time  supplied  the  railroad  contractors  and  builders  with  meat  in  this 
manner. 

Further  north  in  Montana,  although  the  country  was  alive  with  large 
game,  my  command  was  so  incessantly  occupied  against  the  Indians  that 
it  was  rarely  any  attention  could  be  paid  to  game,  except  occasionally 
buffalo,  deer,  and  mountain  sheep.  I  regard  the  mountain  sheep  or  big- 
horn, as  the  finest  of  all  large  game  to  hunt.  To  successfully  hunt  this 
animal  requires  greater  skill,  harder  work,  and  more  dangerous  climbing. 
They  frequent  the  little  mesas  and  ledges  at  the  foot  of  precipitous  cliffs. 
They  are  very  keen-sighted  and  difficult  of  approach.  When  in  repose  they 
are  usually  found  on  little  ledges  where  they  can  survey  the  country  below. 
For  this  reason  the  hunter  aims  to  get  above  them,  and  is  prepared  to  shoot 
at  first  sight.  The  skin  on  the  knee  and  brisket  of  the  mountain  sheep  is 
nearly  an  inch  thick,  made  so  by  kneeling  on  the  sharp  rocks.  In  the 
broken  country  of  the  Rockies  the  black-tailed  deer  are  nearly  as 
surefooted  as  the  mountain  sheep,  and  frequently  use  the,  trails  of  the 
latter. 

After  the  Indians  had  been  thoroughly  cleared  out  of  that  country,  and 
before  it  became  settled  by  the  white  people,  game  was  found  in  great 
abundance.  In  October,  1879,  I  left  Fort  Keogh,  Montana,  with  a  party  of 
eight  officers,  twelve  soldiers,  and  five  Indians,  for  a  hunt  along  the  valley 
of  the  Eosebud.  We  were  gone  six  days  and  had  great  success.  During 
that  time  we  killed  sixty  large  deer,  three  antelopes,  one  mountain 
sheep,  five  elks,  seventeen  buffaloes,  seventy  prairie  chickens  and  six  ducks. 
At  that  season  of  the  year  the  nights  were  cold,  and  the  game,  if  properly 
dressed  and  hung  up,  would  freeze  solid  during  the  night.  In  this  way  wye 
were  able  to  save  most  of  it,  and  on  our  return  to  the  post  we  had  ten  six- 
mule  wagon  teams  heavily  loaded  with  the  trophies  of  our  rifles.  There 
was  a  feast  for  the  whole  garrison  of  four  hundred  men.  I  doubt  whether  a 
party  of  hunters  could  find  that  amount  of  large  game  in  six  days  any- 
where in  North  America  at  the  present  time.  All  the  buffaloes  have  dis- 
appeared, and  nearly  all  the  deer,  antelope  and  elk.  The  black-tailed  deer 
was  the  best  of  all  the  large  game  except  the  mountain  sheep,  which  was 
considered  the  choicest,  richest,  rarest  meat  the  hunter  could  obtain.  There 
is  still  very  good  hunting  in  the  right  season  along  the  lakes  of  Minnesota, 
North  Dakota  and  Manitoba;  prairie  chickens  along  the  plains  of  Dakota 
and  Nebraska;  quail  and  prairie  chickens  in  western  Kansas  and  Indian 
Territory,  and  wild  duck  is  found  in  Indian  Territory,  Texas,  Nebraska, 
the  Dakotas  and  Montana. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  133 

About  the  most  interesting  sport  I  have  ever  engaged  in  was  the  hunt- 
ing of  large  wolves  in  the  Indian  Territory  in  1875,  where  they  were 
found  in  great  numbers.  A  party  of  hunters,  very  often  numbering  from 
ten  to  twenty,  and  well  mounted,  would  move  out  to  a  "  divide  "  or  high 
ridge  of  the  rolling  prairie,  each  with  a  greyhound  or  staghound  held  by  a 
leash,  while  other  men  would  be  sent  along  through  the  timber  in  the  ra- 
vines with  deerhounds  and  bloodhounds  to  start  the  wolves  out  of  the  tim- 
ber and  onto  the  high  ground.  The  moment  they  appeared  and  undertook 
to  cross  the  prairie,  a  signal  would  be  given  and  the  dogs  let  loose ;  the 
result  would  be  a  grand  chase  of  from  three  to  five  miles,  winding  up  with 
a  fierce  fight.  The  large  gray  wolves  were  very  powerful ;  you  could  hear 
their  jaws  snap  a  long  distance  away,  and  frequently  they  cut  the  dogs 
very  badly.  When  any  one  dog  had  courage  enough  to  attack,  all  the 
others  would  rush  in,  and  I  have  frequently  seen  the  whole  pack  upon  one 
large  wolf. 

There  is,  however,  rarer  sport  to  me  in  hunting  the  bear  with  a  well- 
trained  pack  of  dogs.  Mr.  Montague  S.  Stevens  of  New  Mexico  had,  with 
a  few  of  my  own,  a  fine  pack  of  dogs,  composed  of  bloodhounds,  fox  ter- 
riers, staghounds,  boarhounds  and  Russian  wolfhounds.  The  first  were 
used  as  trailers,  and  taken  altogether  they  would  tree  or  bring  to  bay  any 
bear  found  in  that  country.  In  fact  they  fought  the  bear  so  furiously  that 
he  would  pay  little  attention  to  the  hunters,  and  permit  them  to  approach 
with  comparative  safety.  It  is  interesting  sport,  though  very  difficult  and 
somewhat  dangerous.  The  hunters  are  usually  mounted  on  strong,  hardy, 
sure-footed  horses,  as  they  are  obliged  to  ride  rapidly  up  and  down  the 
sides  of  precipitous  mountains.  The  mountains  in  that  part  of  the 
country  range  from  seven  to  ten  thousand  feet  above  the  sea-level,  and 
are  covered  with  scattering  pine  and  cedar  trees,  with  many  rocks  and 
ledges.  Bear  hunting  is  the  most  dangerous  of  all  kinds  of  sport,  and  is 
uninteresting  unless  one  is  equipped  with  a  well-trained  pack  of  dogs ;  a 
pack  used  for  no  other  purpose.  Such  dogs  are  never  allowed  to  hunt  any 
other  game,  such  as  deer  or  elk. 

Along  the  lowlands,  through  which  course  the  tributaries  of  the  great 
Missouri,  the  Arkansas  and  the  Red  Rivers,  was  to  be  found  an  abundant 
stock  of  fish,  not  of  the  finest  quality  it  is  true  ;  while  along  the  base  of 
the  mountains,  the  streams  were  alive  with  the  finest  mountain 
trout.  In  the  Southwest — Kansas,  the  Indian  Territory,  Texas,  and  New 
Mexico, —  the  wild  turkey  and  quail  were  found  in  the  greatest  abundance. 
It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  Indians  rarely  utilized  fish  and  small  game  ; 


134  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

the  large  game  was  their  chief  dependence.  Along  the  whole  extent  of  the 
Rocky  mountains  were  to  be  found  game  and  fish  in  endless  variety,  bear, 
mountain  lion  or  cougar,  deer,  elk  and  mountain  sheep,  while  the  streams 
abounded  with  delicious  trout. 

On  the  Pacific  Slope  very  much  the  same  conditions  prevail  as  to 
animal  life,  except  that  no  trace  of  the  buffalo  is  found  on  the  west  slope 
of  the  Rocky  mountains.  The  streams  of  the  far  Northwest  were  found 
alive  with  trout  and  salmon  of  the  finest  quality,  and  there  the  Indians, 
unlike  their  brothers  eastward  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  used  the  salmon 
as  their  principal  food.  They  took  them  in  such  quantities  at  certain 
seasons  as  to  supply  their  needs  for  the  entire  year,  the  fish  being  dried 
and  cured  for  that  purpose.  They  also  used  meat,  wild  vegetables  and 
berries  for  food. 

Still  further  north,  in  British  Columbia  and  Alaska,  we  find  the  Indians 
living  almost  entirely  upon  fish,  and  their  habits  and  character  are  conse- 
quently quite  different  from  those  of  their  carnivorous  brethren  of  the 
plains. 

The  game  of  the  West  has  rapidly  disappeared  before  the  huntsman's 
rifle.  It  is  a  fair  estimate  that  four  million  buffaloes  were  killed  within 
the  five  years  between  1874  and  1879,  from  what  was  known  as  the  South- 
ern herd,  which  roamed  through  northern  Texas,  the  Indian  Territory. 
Kansas  and  Nebraska.  Between  1878  and  1883  the  great  Northern  herd 
—quite  as  numerous — roaming  through  the  Dakotas,  Wyoming  and  Mon- 
tana, was  destroyed  in  like  manner.  The  hunters  received  on  an  average 
from  $2.50  to  $3.50  per  hide,  to  be  shipped  out  of  the  country  and  sold  for 
leather-making,  belting,  harness-making  and  for  kindred  purposes.  Thou- 
sands of  men  were  engaged  in  the  enterprise.  The  most  successful  hunt- 
ing parties  consisted  of  a  hunter  and  about  six  men  known  as  strippers. 
The  time  usually  selected  for  taking  the  buffaloes  was  just  after  they  had 
been  grazing  in  the  morning,  had  gone  to  the  water  and  then  returned  to 
the  high  ground,  lying  down  to  rest  in  bunches  of  from  twenty  to  a  hundred. 
The  hunter,  with  the  longest  range  rifle  of  the  heaviest  caliber  he  could 
obtain,  would  fire  from  the  leeward  side,  so  far  away  that  the  crack  of  the 
rifle  could  not  be  heard  by  the  buffaloes,  and  being  behind  a  bush  or  a  bunch 
of  grass,  could  not  be  seen.  In  that  way  he  would  kill  from  a  dozen  to  a 
hundred  a  day,  without  disturbing  the  herd  to  any  great  extent.  The 
buffalo  receiving  a  mortal  wound  would  bleed  to  death,  while  his  neighbors, 
smelling  the  blood,  would  sometimes  come  near  him  and  paw  the  ground, 
and  so  stand  until  they,  too,  would  receive  their  death-wounds.  The  strip- 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


135 


pers  would  then  come  up  with  ox  teams,  take  off  the  hides,  put  them  in 
the  wagons,  and  transport  them  to  the  nearest  railroad  station,  whence 
they  were  shipped  to  market.  At  one  station  alone  on  the  Atchison, 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad  as  many  as  750,000  hides  were  shipped  in 
one  year. 

After  taking  the  hide  off  the  buffalo,  the  carcass  would  be  poisoned  in 
many  cases,  some  yearling  buffalo  being  generally  selected,  and  next 
morning  there  might  be  found  forty  or  fifty  dead  wolves  lying  scattered 
around,  victims  of  the  strychnine.  In  this  way  the  large  game  was  rapidly 
destroyed,  together  with  countless  numbers  of  wolves  that  had  thrived 
only  by  preying  upon  them.  This  might  seem  like  cruelty  and  wasteful 
extravagance,  but  the  buffalo,  like  the  Indian,  stood  in  the  way  of  civiliza- 
tion and  in  the  path  of  progress,  and  the  decree  had  gone  forth  that  they 
must  both  give  way.  It  was  impossible  to  herd  domestic  stock  in  a  coun- 
try where  they  were  constantly  liable  to  be  stampeded  by  the  moving 
herds  of  wild  animals.  The  same  territory  which  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago  was  supporting  those  vast  herds  of  wild  game,  is  now  covered  with 
domestic  animals  which  afford  the  food  supply  for  hundreds  of  millions  of 
people  in  civilized  countries. 


136 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTION  S  OF 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  INDIAN  DURING  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

INDIAN  UPRISING  IN  MINNESOTA  —  CAUSES  LEADING  THERETO  —  GOVERNOR  RAMSEY'S  INDIAN  COUN- 
CIL —  RED  IRON  —  LEAN  BEAR  —  THE  CHIVINGTON  MASSACRE  —  GENERAL  DODGE'S 
INDIAN  CAMPAIGNS  —  THE  BENT  BOYS  —  MAJOR  NORTH  —  DISCOVERY   OF 
GOLD    IN   THE    BLACK    HILLS  —  THE   PEACE  COMMISSION  — 
GENERAL   CONNOR  —  BATTLE    OP    THE    TONGUE 
RIVER  —  THE  FETTERMAN  MASSACRE. 

RGENT  need  of  practically  withdrawing  the  troops  from  the 
frontier,  forced  upon  the  government  by  the  exigencies  of  the 
Civil  War  and  the  continuance  of  that  contest  for  four  years, 
gave  the  Indians  encouragement  as  well  as  opportunity  to  ac- 
quire firearms  and  munitions  of  war  which  they  would  not 
otherwise  have  been  able  to  obtain.  The  disastrous  results  were 
soon  felt  all  along  the  frontier,  especially  in  the  Northwest, 
where  occurred  what  is  known  as  the  "Minnesota  Massacre  of 
1862,"  and  in  the  Southwest,  particularly  in  Arizona  and  New  Mex- 
ico ;  and  it  became  speedily  apparent  that  whatever  the  pressure  at 
the  front,  large  bodies  of  volunteer  troops  must  be  located  and  maintained 
in  the  Indian  country,  sufficient  to  overawe  the  hostile  tribes  and  keep 
them  in  subjection. 

The  Indian  uprising  in  Minnesota  in  the  year  1862,  like  many  others, 
was  that  of  a  people  quiet  and  semi-civilized,  to  avenge  real  or  imaginary 
wrongs.  They  suddenly  rose  and  fell  upon  the  unprotected  settlements 
and  destroyed  upward  of  a  thousand  people  —  men,  women  and  children. 
As  speedily  as  possible  a  large  force  of  troops  was  thrown  against  the  hos- 
tiles,  under  the  command  of  General  Sibley,  who  conducted  an  energetic  and 
successful  campaign,  resulting  in  the  subjugation  of  such  portions  of  the 
Sioux  Indians  as  did  not  escape  across  the  border  into  Canadian  territory. 
The  following  extract  from  "  Hoard's  History  of  the  Sioux  War"  will  ex- 
hibit some  of  the  causes  leading  finally  to  that  outbreak.  The  council  re- 
ferred to  in  the  extract  was  held  in  November,  1852,  and  was  of  great 
importance,  as  bearing  upon  subsequent  events. 

"  The  room  was  crowded  with  Indians  and  white  men  when  Red  Iron  was  brought  in 
guarded  by  soldiers.  He  was  about  forty  years  old,  tall  and  athletic  ;  about  six  feet  in 
his  moccasins,  with  a  large,  well-developed  head,  aquiline  nose,  thin  compressed  lips,  and 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  137 

physiognomy  beaming  with  intelligence  and  resolution.  He  was  clad  in  the  half-military, 
half-Indian  costume  of  the  Dakota  chiefs.  He  was  seated  in  the  council-room  without 
greeting  or  salutation  from  any  one.  In  a  few  minutes  the  governor,  turning  to  the  chief 
in  the  midst  of  a  breathless  silence,  by  the  aid  of  an  interpreter  opened  the  council. 

"  GOVERNOR  RAMSEY  asked  :  '  What  excuse  have  you  for  not  coming  to  the  council 
when  I  sent  for  you  ?' 

'•  The  chief  rose  to  his  feet  with  native  grace  and  dignity,  his  blanket  falling  from  his 
shoulders,  and  purposely  dropping  the  pipe  of  peace  he  stood  erect  before  the  governor 
with  his  arms  folded,  and  his  right  hand  pressed  on  the  sheath  of  his  scalping  knife  With 
firm  voice  he  replied  : 

'  I  started  to  come,  but  your  braves  drove  me  back.' 

"GOVERNOR  RAMSEY:  -What  excuse  have  you  for  not  coming  the  second  time  I 
sent  for  you  ?' 

"  RED  IRON  :    '  No  other  excuse  than  I  have  given  you.' 

"  GOVERNOR  RAMSEY  :  '  At  the  treaty  I  thought  you  a  good  man,  but  since  you 
have  acted  badly,  I  am  disposed  to  break  you.  I  do  break  you. 

"  RED  IRON  :  'You  break  me!  My  people  made  me  a  chief.  My  people  love  me.  I 
will  still  be  their  chief.  I  have  done  nothing  wrong.' 

"  GOVERNOR  RAMSEY  :  '  Why  did  you  get  your  braves  together  and  march  around 
here  for  the  purpose  of  intimidating  other  chiefs,  and  prevent  their  coming  to  the 
council  ?' 

"  RED  IRON  :  '  I  did  not  get  my  braves  together,  they  got  together  themselves  to  pre- 
vent boys  going  to  council  to  be  made  chiefs  to  sign  papers,  and  to  prevent  single  chiefs 
going  to  council  at  night,  to  be  bribed  to  sign  papers  for  money  we  have  never  got.  We 
have  heard  how  the  Medewakantons  were  served  at  Mendota  ;  that  by  secret  councils  you 
got  their  names  on  paper,  and  took  away  their  money.  We  don't  want  to  be  served  so. 
My  braves  wanted  to  come  to  council  in  the  daytime,  when  the  sun  shines,  and  we  want 
no  councils  in  the  dark.  We  want  all  our  people  to  go  to  council  together,  so  that  we  can 
all  know  what  is  done.' 

"  GOVERNOR  RAMSEY  :  '  Why  did  you  attempt  to  come  to  council  with  your  braves, 
when  1  had  forbidden  your  braves  coming  to  council  ?' 

"RED  IRON:  'You  invited  the  chiefs  only,  and  would  not  let  the  braves  come  too. 
This  is  not  the  way  we  have  been  treated  before,  and  this  is  not  according  to  our  customs; 
for  among  Dakotas,  chiefs  and  braves  go  to  council  together.  When  you  first  sent  for  us 
there  were  two  or  three  chiefs  here,  and  we  wanted  to  wait  till  the  rest  would  come,  that 
we  might  all  be  in  council  together  and  know  what  was  done,  and  so  that  we  might  all 
understand  the  papers,  and  know  what  we  were  signing.  When  we  signed  the  treaty  the 
traders  threw  a  blanket  over  our  faces  and  darkened  our  eyes,  and  made  us  sign  papers 
which  we  did  not  understand,  and  which  were  not  explained  or  read  to  us.  We  want  our 
Great  Father  at  Washington  to  know  what  has  been  done.' 

"  GOVERNOR  RAMSEY  :  '  Your  Great  Father  has  sent  me  to  represent  him,  and  what 
I  say  is  what  he  says.  He  wants  you  to  pay  your  old  debts  in  accordance  with  the  paper 
you  signed  when  the  treaty  was  made,  and  to  leave  that  money  in  mv  hands  to  pay  these 
debts.  If  you  refuse  to  do  this  I  will  take  the  money  back.' 

"  RED  IRON  :  '  You  can  take  the  money  back.  WTe  sold  our  land  to  you,  and  you 
promised  to  pay  us.  If  you  don't  give  us  the  money  I  will  be  glad,  and  all  our  people 
will  be  glad,  for  we  will  have  our  land  back  if  you  don't  give  us  the  money.  That  paper 
was  not  interpreted  or  explained  to  us.  We  are  told  it  gives  about  300  boxes  ($300.000) 
of  our  money  to  some  of  the  traders.  We  don't  think  we  owe  them  so  much.  We  want 
to  pay  all  our  debts.  We  want  our  Great  Father  to  send  three  good  men  here  to  tell  us 


138  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

how  much  we  do  owe,  and  whatever  they  say  we  will  pay ;  and  that's  what  all  these  braves 
say.  Our  chiefs  and  all  our  people  say  this.' 

All  the    Indians  present  responded,  'Ho !  ho  !' 

"  GOVERNOR  RAMSEY  :  '  That  can't  be  done.  You  owe  more  than  your  money  will 
pay,  and  I  am  ready  now  to  pay  your  annuity,  and  no  more  ;  and  when  you  are  ready  to 
receive  it  the  agent  will  pay  you. 

"  RED  IRON  :  '  We  will  receive  our  annuity,  but  we  will  sign  no  papers  for  anything 
else.  The  snow  is  on  the  ground,  and  we  have  been  waiting  a  long  time  to  get  our 
money.  We  are  poor  ;  you  have  plenty.  Your  fires  are  warm.  Your  tepees  keep  out 
the  cold.  We  have  nothing  to  eat.  We  have  been  waiting  a  long  time  for  our  moneys. 
Our  hunting  season  is  past.  A  great  many  of  our  people  are  sick  for  being  hungry.  We  may 
die  because  you  won't  pay  us.  We  may  die,  but  if  we  do  we  will  leave  our  bones  on  tne  ground, 
that  our  Great  Father  may  see  where  his  Dakota  children  died.  We  are  very  poor.  We  have 
sold  our  hunting-grounds  and  the  graves  of  our  fathers.  We  have  sold  our  own  graves. 
We  have  no  place  to  bury  our  dead,  and  you  will  not  pay  us  the  money  for  our 
lands.'  ' 

"The  council  was  broken  up,  and  Red  Iron  was  sent  to  the  guardhouse,  where  he  was 
kept  till  the  next  day.  Between  thirty  and  forty  of  the  braves  of  Red  Iron's  band  were 
present  during  this  arraignment  before  the  governor.  When  he  was  led  away  they  de- 
parted in  sullen  silence,  headed  by  Lean  Bear,  to  a  spot  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  coun- 
cil-house, where  they  uttered  a  succession  of  yells;  the  gathering  signal  of  the  Dakotas. 
Ere  the  echoes  died  away  Indians  were  hurrying  from  their  tepees  toward  them,  prepared 
for  battle.  They  proceeded  to  the  eminence  near  the  camp,  where  mouldered  the  bones  of 
many  warriors.  It  was  the  memorable  battle-ground  where  their  ancestors  had  fought, 
in  a  conflict  like  Waterloo,  the  warlike  Sacs  and  Foxes,  thereby  preserving  their  lands 
and  nationality.  Upon  this  field  stood  two  hundred  resolute  warriors  ready  to  do  battle  for 
their  hereditary  chief.  Lean  Bear,  the  principal  brave  of  Red  Iron's  band,  was  a  large, 
resolute  man,  about  thirty-five  years  of  age,  and  had  great  influence  in  his  nation. 

"  Here,  on  their  old  battle-ground,  Lean  Bear  recounted  the  brave  deeds  of  Red  Iron, 
the  long  list  of  wrongs  inflicted  on  the  Indians  by  the  white  men,  and  proposed  to  the 
braves  that  they  should  make  a  general  attack  on  the  whites.  By  the  influence  of  some  of 
the  half-breeds,  and  of  white  men  who  were  known  to  be  friendly  to  them,  Lean  Bear  was 
induced  to  abandon  his  scheme,  and  finally  the  tribe,  being  starving,  consented  to  give  up 
their  lands  and  accept  the  sum  of  money  offered  to  them. 

"  Over  $55,000  of  this  treaty  money,  paid  for  debts  of  the  Indians,  went  to  one  Hugh 
Tyler,  a  stranger  in  the  country,  'for  getting  the  treaty  through  the  Senate,  and  for  neces- 
sary disbursements  in  securing  the  assent  of  the  chiefs.' 

"  Five  years  later  another  trader,  under  the  pretence  that  he  was  going  to  get  back  for 
them  some  of  this  stolen  money,  obtained  their  signature  to  vouchers,  by  means  of  which 
he  cheated  them  out  of  $12,000  more.  At  this  same  time  he  obtained  a  payment  of  $4,500 
for  goods  he  said  they  had  stolen  from  him.  Another  man  was  allowed  a  claim  of  $5,000 
for  horses  he  said  they  had  stolen  from  him. 

"  In  1858  the  chiefs  were  taken  to  Washington,  and  agreed  to  the  treaties  for  the  cession 
of  all  their  reservation  north  of  the  Minnesota  River,  under  which,  as  ratified  by  the  Senate, 
they  were  to  have  $166,000 ;  but  of  this  amount  they  never  received  one  penny  till  four 
years  afterward,  when  $15,000  in  goods  were  sent  to  the  Lower  Sioux,  and  these  were  de- 
ducted out  of  what  was  clue  them  under  former  treaties." 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


139 


The  Red  Iron  mentioned  above  was  a  man  of  great  sagacity  and  of  the 
highest  personal  character.  He  opposed  with  all  his  influence,  and  at  the  risk 
of  his  life,  the  outbreak  of  1862,  but  the  current  against  him  was  too  strong. 

The  Sand  Creek  massacre  is  perhaps  the  foulest  and  most  unjustifiable 
crime  in  the  annals  of  America.  It  was  planned  by  and  executed  under 
the  personal  direction  of  J.  M.  Chivington,  Colonel  of  the  First  Colorado  Cav- 
alry, on  the  27th  of  November,  1864,  at  a  point  in  Colorado  about  forty 
miles  from  Fort  Lyon.  The  details  of  the  massacre  are  too  revolting  to  be 
enumerated  and  I  dismiss  the  matter  with  the  statement,  for  the  benefit  of 
those  who  would  care  to  look  into  the  details,  that  three  letters  from  Helen 
Hunt  Jackson  appeared  in  the  New  York  Tribune,  January  31,  February 
22,  and  February  28,  1880,  reviewing  the  official  testimony  and  pre- 
senting such  facts 
therefrom  as  could  be 
printed.  But  for  that  , 
horrible  butchery  it 
is  a  fair  pre- 
sumption that 
all  the  subse- 
quent wars 
with  the  Chey- 
ennes  and 
Arapahoes 
and  their  kin- 
dred tribes 
might  possi- 
bly have  been 
averted.  In 
the  official  re- 
port of  the 

Indian  Peace  Commission  of  1868,  alluding  to  the  Sand  Creek  massacre,  or 
the  Chivington  massacre  as  it  is  more  generally  known,  the  statement  is 
deliberately  made  that:  "  It  scarcely  has  its  parallel  in  the  records  of  Indian 
barbarity.  Fleeing  women,  holding  up  their  hands  and  praying  for  mercy, 
were  shot  down  ;  infants  were  killed  and  scalped  in  derision ;  men  were 
tortured  and  mutilated  in  a  manner  that  would  put  to  shame  the  savages 
of  interior  Africa.  No  one  will  be  astonished  that  a  war  ensued,  which 
cost  the  government  $30,000,000,  and  carried  conflagration  and  death  into 
the  border  settlements.  During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1865  no  less 

M— 9 


LEAN  BEAR  ROUSING  THE  INDIANS. 


140  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

than  8,000  troops  were  withdrawn  from  the  effective  forces  engaged 
against  the  Rebellion  to  meet  this  Indian  war."  A  line  of  military  posts 
from  the  Platte  River  northwest  to  the  Upper  Big  Horn  and  Yellowstone 
became  necessary,  and  this  in  its  turn  aggravated  the  Indian  disaffection, 
since  it  pierced  their  hunting-grounds  and  disarranged  their  hunting  plans. 
The  following  letter  received  from  Major-General  Dodge,  in  reply  to  my 
inquiry,  gives  so  clear  an  exposition  of  the  situation  of  affairs  at  the  time 
referred  to  when  the  writer  was  in  command  of  the  Department  of  Kansas 
and  the  Territories,  that  I  present  it  entire. 

No.  1  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK,  July  19th,  1895. 
GEN.  NELSON  A.  MILES,  GOVERNOR'S  ISLAND,  NEW  YORK. 

DEAR  SIR  : — My  recollections  of  the  Indian  Campaign  of  1865-6,  without  having  the 
records  before  me,  are  as  follows : 

The  general  plan  was  to  move  four  columns  so  as  to  strike  all  the  Indians  at  once,  and 
to  follow  them  winter  and  summer  until  we  caught  them  or  they  surrendered. 

1  had  had  a  good  deal  of  experience  in  the  Indian  country  and  had  set  forth  my  views 
to  General  Grant,  and  in  an  answer  to  a  despatch  from  him  had  stated  that  I  could  make 
an  Indian  Campaign  in  the  winter ;  and  in  the  winter  of  1864-5,  I  made  a  short  Indian 
Campaign,  opening  all  the  routes  that  had  been  closed  up  between  the  Missouri  River, 
Denver,  New  Mexico,  Fort  Laramie.  etc.,  and  this  brought  on  a  general  movement  in  1865. 

The  column  that  moved  against  the  Southern  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  was  under 
the  command  of  Maj.-Gen.  John  B.  Sanborn.  One  of  his  detachments  overtook  a  body 
of  Indians  somewhere  near  the  Arkansas.  They  were  under  George  Bent.  He  defeated 
them  and  brought  about  a  temporary  peace  with  those  tribes.  I  suppose  his  success  and 
his  views  in  this  matter  were  the  reasons  for  his  being  placed  upon  the  Peace  Commission 
afterward.  The  interference  by  the  Southern  Commission  virtually  defeated  all  my  plans 
against  the  Comanches  and  Apaches  and  we  suffered  for  it  later  on. 

In  this  battle  George  Bent  was  killed.  The  two  Bent  boys,  Charles  and  George,  I 
had  captured  in  the  South,  in  Northern  Arkansas.  I  knew  their  father,  Col.  Bent,  well, 
and  when  they  surrendered  to  me  I  paroled  them  and  sent  them  to  their  home  in  Colorado. 
They  did  not  stay  there  long  before  one  of  them  went  at  the  head  of  the  Southern  Chey- 
ennes, and  of  the  Indians  organized  on  the  Arkansas  and  South  ;  and  Charles  was  at  the 
head  of  the  Northern  Cheyennes,  Arapahoes  and  Sioux.  Both  of  these  boys  had  been 
educated  in  some  Catholic  Institution  in  St.  Louis ;  I  think  it  was  called  "  The  Brothers 
College." 

Column  No.  2  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Nelson  Cole.  He  moved  from  Omaha  up 
the  Loup  Fork  to  its  head  and  crossed  to  the  Niobrara  River,  and  there  divided  his  column, 
one  division  passing  up  the  South  Fork  of  the  Cheyenne  River  under  Lt.-Col.  Walker, 
with  500  pack  mules  and  no  train.  This  column  was  to  follow  the  divide  of  the  Black 
Hills  and  the  western  base,  while  Cole  himself  moved  up  the  eastern  base  with  his  com- 
mand, both  joining  at  the  Belle  Fourche  fork  of  the  Cheyenne  ;  after  which  they  were  to 
proceed  and  join  me  at  Powder  River,  and  so  on.  Col.  Cole's  columns  fought  several 
times  and  did  good  work. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  141 

Column  No.  3  started  from  Sioux  City  and  was  simply  an  escort  of  one  regiment  to 
the  Sawyer's  Military  Road  Service.     This  column  moved  to  and  up  the  Niobrara  to  the 
Cheyenne,  then  up  the  Cheyenne  to  the  vicinity  of  Pumpkin  Buttes ;  which  is  almost  east 
of  the  old  Fort  Reno  crossing  of  Powder  River,  where  Charles  Bent, 
with  the  Northern  Cheyennes  and  a  part  of  the  Sioux,  corralled  them  ; 
and  Sawyer,  who  had  charge  of  the  entire  outfit,  commenced  parley- 
ing with  them,  and  lost  several  of  his  men. 

When  the  officer  in  command,  who  I  think  was  Captain  Walford  of 
the  United  States  Troops,  assumed  command,  corralled  his  train  and 
fortified  his  position  and  got  word  to  me,  1  immediately,  by  forced 
marches  of  my  cavalry,  undertook  to  capture  Bent,  at  the  same  time 
relieving  Sawyer  ;  but  Bent  got  wind  of  the  movements  by  his  run- 
ners, and  got  away  before  they  reached  him.  I  then  sent  Sawyer 
through,  under  charge  of  one  of  my  officers,  on  the  route  we  had 
made  to  the  Yellowstone  River,  namely :  Fetterman,  Reno  Crossing 
of  the  Powder  River,  thence  across  to  the  foot  of  the  Big  Horn 
Mountains  by  what  was  afterwards  Fort  McKinstry,  and  so  on  by  the  GENERAL  G.  M.  DODGE. 
road  now  well  known  and  traveled,  that  we  established  to  Montana. 

Column  No.  4  started  from  Salt  Lake,  under  Gen.  P.  E.  Conner,  marched  by  way  of 
the  South  Pass  and  Wind  River,  crossing  the  spurs  of  the  Big  Horn  Mountains,  and  sur- 
prised and  captured  the  Northern  Cheyennes  and  Sioux  on  Tongue  River.  In  this  battle 
they  captured  all  the  camp  equipage,  some  800  ponies,  etc.  I  sent  to  Conner,  before  the 
battle,  a  battalion  of  Pawnees  who  engaged  in  the  fight.  They  killed  and  scalped  some 
squaws  and  children  and  caused  considerable  unfriendly  comment. 

I  myself  moved  by  way  of  the  Smoky  Hill  fork  of  the  Republican  across  to  Jules- 
berg,  to  Fort  Laramie,  to  where  Fort  Fetterman  now  is.  and  thence  across  to  the  Powder 
River  and  Big  Horn.  All  the  Indians  in  that  country  kept  ahead  of  me  until  nearly  all 
the  Northern  bands  were  concentrated  between  the  Powder  River  and  the  Yellowstone. 
We  captured  and  wiped  out  one  band  of  Sioux  who  had  been  down  on  the  Laramie  Plains 
and  had  captured  a  portion  of  a  company  of  Michigan  volunteers  who  were  escorting  a 
supply  train,  and  had  burnt  and  butchered  them.  I  got  word  of  it,  and  knowing  their 
trails,  sent  some  cavalry,  with  two  companies  of  Pawnees  under  Major  North,  to  where 
they  crossed  Salt  Creek;  and  those  troops  took  this  band  in  as  they  came  north  to  join 
Bent. 

The  chief  of  the  Indian  party,  an  old  Sioux,  when  he  saw  he  was  caught,  walked  out 
and  harangued  Major  North,  of  the  Pawnees,  who  spoke  their  language,  and  told  him  he 
was  ready  to  die  as  he  had  been  down  on  the  Plains,  and  was  full  up  to  here  of  white 
men,  putting  his  hand  to  his  mouth.  These  troops  wiped  out  this  whole  band.  From 
them  they  captured  the  property  taken  from  the  Michigan  Company,  among  which  was 
one  blank  book  in  which  the  Indians  described  in  their  own  picture-language  the  whole 
trip  and  what  they  had  done,  showing  the  burning  of  the  Michigan  soldiers  tied  to  the  wheels 
of  the  wagons.  The  book  was  a  curiosity  and  I  sent  it  forward  to  the  War  Department. 

After  the  battle  of  Tongue  River,  as  I  was  following  up  the  Sioux  and  other  bands 
who  were  over  in  front  of  Cole  and  who  were  not  in  the  fight  with  Connor,  I  received  or- 
ders from  Gen.  Pope  and  Gen.  Grant  to  return  immediately  to  Fort  Laramie,  to  send  out 
runners  to  the  Indians  and  bring  them  in  there  and  conclude  a  peace  with  them.  I  pro- 


142 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


tested,  stating  that  within  sixty  days  more  I  would  be  able  to  kill  or  capture  all  the  In- 
dians that  were  hostile,  as  they  were  nearly  worn  out  and  in  front  of  me.  I  had  then 
followed  them  steadily  for  six  months  or  more,  and  they  were  becoming  used  up  daily. 
Grant  answered  that  he  understood,  but  that  it  was  President  Johnson's  order,  that  the 
policy  of  the  Government  had  changed,  and  there  was  no  remedy  but  to  promptly  do  the 
best  that  I  could  to  gather  the  hostiles  in  at  once.  This  order  I  promptly  complied  with  ; 


•IS    '         •: 
H?" 

! 


-T 

^.^ 


but  my  leaving  the  chase  so  abruptly  and 
returning  to  Laramie,  etc.,  the  Indians  did 
not  understand,  and  I  was  unable  to  make  a 
peace  treaty  that  I  would  recommend. 

My  troops  in  passing  over  and  around 
the  Black  Hills,  north  of  the  North  Platte, 
panned  out  considerable  gold.  There  were  several  Californians  and  other  miners  in  those 
regiments,  and  I  knew  any  treaty  that  did  not  give  us  the  country  south  of  the  Belle 
Fourche  fork  of  the  Cheyenne  would  not  be  of  any  use  to  us,  as  the  troops,  as  soon  as  I  dis- 
banded them,  would  pour  over  into  that  portion  of  the  Black  Hills  regardless  of  any 
treaty. 


FATE  OP  THE  MICHIGAN  SOLDIERS. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


143 


I,  therefore,  endeavored  to  so  make  the  line  that  the  Indians  should  stay  north  of  the 
Belle  Fourche  fork  of  the  Cheyenne  River.  But  the  Indians  insisted  upon  the  North 
Platte  as  the  line.  They  finally  proposed  to  accept  the  South  fork  of  the  Cheyenne,  but  I 
would  not  accept  this,  so  I  declared  a  truce  with  them,  simply  agreeing  for  the  winter 
that  they  should  remain  north  of  the  Platte,  and  if  they  behaved  themselves  they  would 
not  be  molested  and  if  they  did  not,  I  would  make  a  winter  campaign  again.  They  prom- 
ised to  comply  with  my  demands,  and  I  reported  the  facts  and  my  reasons  to  my  superiors. 

Finally  the  Sherman-Harney  Peace  Commission  was  formed,  who  made  the  treaty  that 
allowed  them  to  come  to  the  South  fork 
of  the  Cheyenne.  But  as  soon  as  my 
soldiers  were  disbanded  they  carried 
home  the  news  of  their  discov- 
eries in  the  Black  Hills,  and 
especially  to  California,  and 
prospectors  from  that  country 
and  from  Colorado  and  other 
points  went  to  all  the  streams 
north  of  the  Platte  and  violated 
the  treaty.  Our  Government 
seemed  unable  to  induce  them 
to  comply  with  the  terms  of 
the  treaty.  This  brought  first 
complaints,  then  protests,  and 
finally  the  Sitting  Bull  war, 
and  we  who  were  building  the 
U.  P.  Railway  suffered  from 
their  depredations,  stealing, 
killing,  etc.,  from  1866  on. 

I  wrote  General  Sherman 
strongly  both  before  and  after 
I  left  the  service,  as  to  the  re- 
sult of  a  treaty  giving  this  line 
which  the  Indians  demanded, 
and  as  I  knew  the  country  bet- 
ter than  any  one  else,  and  the  determination  of  the 
Indians,  I  would  not  agree  to  it.  General  Pope 
and  others  did  not  agree  with  me.  They  believed 
they  could  conquer  the  Indian  by  kindness  and 
that  the  line  the  Indians  demanded  could  be  protected  against  white  people  crossing 
it,  although  I  had  opened  right  through  that  territory  a  military  wagon  road,  a  short 
and  excellent  route  from  the  Missouri  to  all  points  in  Montana,  and  my  troops  were  loaded 
with  stories  of  mines  of  silver,  gold  and  coal  existing  all  over  that  country. 

In  one  snowstorm  on  the  Powder  River  we  lost  nearly  or  quite  one  thousand  head  of 
cavalry  horses  which  had  been  weakened  by  long  marches  and  poor  feed.  We  also  aban- 
doned on  Powder  River  about  one  hundred  empty  army  wagons,  remounting  the 
cavalry  on  mules  and  on  the  800  ponies  Connor  had  captured;  thus  putting  the  cavalry 


SOLDIERS  DISCOVER  GOLD  IN  THE 
BLACK  HILLS. 


144 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


in  the  fall  of  1865  right  on  the  Yellowstone,  finely  mounted  and  really  fresh;  and  between 
the  Yellowstone  and  Missouri,  if  the  balance  of  the  Indians  had  crossed  the  Yellowstone, 
we  would  have  caught  the  last  band  that  stuck  together. 

After  the  battle  of  Tongue  River  the  Arapahoes  that  were  not  captured,  scattered  and 
made  their  way  home;  so  did  many  of  the  Sioux,  but  the  Cheyennes  and  part  of  the  Sioux 
stuck  together  and  came  in  at  Fort  Laramie. 

In  this  campaign  I  selected  the  general  positions  for  the  following  military  posts,  not 
the  exact  sites  :  Near  the  Big  Horn  River  at  the  foot  of  the  Big  Horn  Mountains,  after- 
wards called  McKinstry;  at  the  crossing  of  the  Powder  River';  the  location  at  Fort 
Sanders  on  the  Laramie  Plains;  also  at  the  U.  P.  crossing  of  the  North  Platte,  after- 
wards called  Fort  Steele;  Fort  Dodge  on  the  Arkansas;  also  a  post  on  the  Smoky  Hill 
fork  of  the  Republican;  I  think  it  was  afterwards  called  Sheridan,  and  others.  I  sent 
troops  to  occupy  them  in  the  spring  of  1866. 

I  write  you  thus  fully,  in  general,  so  as  to  enable  you,  if  you  are  following  these  matters 
up,  to  form  a  thorough  idea  of  the  campaign  and  the  general  details  as  I  understand  them. 
Of  course  I  have  written  this  without  going  into  the  records  fully,  but  you  will  find  that 
they  carry  out  these  views  pretty  generally.  I  am,  very  truly  yours, 

G.  M.  DODGE. 

P.  S. —  General  Grant  intended  to  send  me  12,000  men,  but  so  many  were  mustered 
out  that  I  had  all  told  about  5,000.  As  fast  as  they  arrived  the  governors  of  States  would 
get  orders  for  their  muster  out." 

The  results  of  the  recall  of  General  Dodge  from  the  Powder  Eiver  were 
a  series  of  disasters  of  which  the  greatest  was  the  Fetterman  massacre  of 
December  21,  1866,  near  Fort  Phil  Kearney,  in  which  eighty-two  officers 
and  soldiers  lost  their  lives,  none  of  the  command  being  left  alive  to  tell 
the  story. 

The  troops  having  been  recalled  and  scattered  in  posts,  the  Indians, 
some  of  them,  were  enticed  to  Laramie  to  make  a  treaty,  while  others 
continued  on  the  war  path,  cutting  off  detachments  and  emigrant  trains, 
just  as  if  peace  had  not  been  declared. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  145 


CHAPTER  X. 
SOME  HISTORIC  CAMPAIGNS. 

GENERAL  HANCOCK'S  EXPEDITION  —  GENERAL  CARR'S  CAMPAIGNS  —  COLONEL  FORSYTII'S  DESPERATE 
FIGHT     ox    THE    ARICKAREE  —  ROMAN  NOSE  —  DARING    DEEDS    OF    STILWELL    AND 
TRUDEAU  —  OUSTER  STRIKES  BLACK  KETTLE'S  VILLAGE — DEATH  OF  MAJOR 
ELLIOTT  —  THE   PLAINS  —  FORT    HAYS  —  HUNTING  —  FORT 
HARKER  —  FORT  LEAVENWORTII  —  THE   MODOO 
WAR —  DEATH  OF  GENERAL  CANBY  — 
GENERAL  SHERMAN'S  TRIB- 
UTE TO  CANBY. 

HE  situation  in  respect  to  Indian  affairs  grew  steadily  worse 
until  another  formidable  expedition,  commanded  by  General 
Hancock,  was  in  1868  sent  against  the  Indians.  This  expedi- 
tion traversed  the  plains  country  of  Kansas  and  the  northern 
part  of  the  Indian  Territory,  without,  however,  being  able  to 
\  bring  the  savages  to  a  general  engagement. 

The  campaign  of  General  Carr  in  the  same  year,  1868-9, 
resulted  in  his  bringing  his  command  into  contact  with  the 
hostile  Indians  in  no  less  than  nine  different  affairs.  His  most 
brilliant  achievement  was  a  forced  march  across  the  plains  against  a 
combination  of  hostiles  known  as  the  "  Dog  Soldiers,"  made  up  of  different 
tribes,  principally  Sioux  and  Cheyennes,  who  were  devastating  the  settle- 
ments along  the  western  frontier.  He  surprised  their  Camp  at  Summit 
Springs,  Colorado,  on  the  south  fork  of  the  Platte,  on  Sunday,  July  12, 
1869,  killing  sixty-eight  warriors,  taking  seventeen  prisoners,  and  recap- 
turing a  white  woman,  Mrs.  Weigel,  whose  husband  had  been  killed  a  few 
weeks  before  at  the  time  she  was  carried  into  captivity. 

During  this  year  occurred  one  of  the  most  remarkable  affairs  with  In- 
dians in  American  history.  Its  scene  was  a  small  stream,  the  Arickaree,  in 
northern  Kansas.  Brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  George  A.  Forsyth  was  in 
command  of  a  small  body  of  fifty  citizens  enlisted  as  scouts,  and  had 
camped  beside  the  stream,  which  contained  very  little  water,  on  September 
17.  There  was  a  small  island  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  and  on  this 
Forsyth  took  position  when  he  was  attacked.  The  men  were  placed 


146 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


in  a  circle  and  lying  down,  and  each  instantly  began  digging  a  rifle- 
pit  for  himself.  About  nine  o'clock  a  charge  was  made  on  the  little 
band  by  about  three  hundred  warriors.  They  were  repulsed,  and  re- 
treated. Roman  Nose,  the  leader  of  the  hostiles,  was  killed  in  this 
charge,  and  the  plain  was  strewn  with  dead  Indians.  About  two 
o'clock  another  charge  was  made,  and  was  again  repulsed.  A  feebler, 
and  final  one  was  made  about  four  o'clock.  Then  it  began  to  rain.  Every 
horse  and  mule  was  killed  by  the  enemy's  tire,  Lieutenant  Beecher,  second 
in  command,  and  five  _  men  were  killed  or  mor- 

tally wounded,  and  seven-  .^B^IHUEI|jk  teen  were  wounded,  in- 
cluding Colonel  Forsyth.  M  Fort  Wallace,  the  nearest 
military  post,  was  a  hun-  fl  l^lf  ^red  miles  away.  Forsyth 
and  his  men  were  with-  f,:.  >  ."  TDM  out  food,  and  surrounded 
by  about  nine  hundred  BJpBlf  tBjjlL  IP-  Indians,  including 
Northern  Cheyennes,  W  MJ  Ogalalla  Sioux,  and  that 
queer  conglomeration  of  ^JHfiS^lltP  mj  many  tribes  then  known 
as  Dog  Soldiers.  A  well  ^^HQK  WJi  was  dug,  and  dead  horses 
were  cut  into  strips  for  mM  food.  The  breastwork 
was  strengthened  m^jHUi^'1'  '-  with  saddles  and 

meaadtaco™lf'    "j^fl^flPillfi^^,.    "'"  ^o  longer  te 

£rS  SiS 

S5^ 


COLONEL  GEORGE  A.  FORSYTH. 


The    fron- 

this    time 

weak      to 

were  thus  found  when  succor  came. 


„„ 

tiersmenby 

were    too 

move,    and 
Why  so  small  a  body  of    civilians 


should  have  been  permitted  to  go  into  a  country  known  to  be  occupied 
by  a  large  body  of  hostile  Indians,  instead  of  sending  out  a  large  body 
of  regular  troops  to  engage  them,  is  not  clear.  In  fact.  Colonel  Forsyth, 
in  his  very  interesting  and  graphic  account  of  that  engagement,  recently 
published,  in  summing  up  the  results  of  the  first  day's  fiercely-contested 
fight,  and  the  serious  loss  to  his  command  in  officers  and  men,  and  also 
referring  to  the  terrible  wounds  from  which  he  was  himself  suffering, 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  147 

says :  "  It  was  all  I  could  do  to  pull  myself  together  and  set  about  getting 
out  of  the  dangerous  position  into  which  I  had  led  my  command." 

This  officer  has  now  been  five  years  on  the  retired  list  of  the  army,  and 
is  living  in  Washington.  I  have  no  doubt  that  his  disability  was  pri- 
marily the  result  of  the  serious  wounds  he  received  in  this  engagement. 

It  was  a  most  heroic  and  desperate  defense,  showing  the  cool  courage 
of  the  frontiersmen,  their  skill  and  accuracy  in  the  use  of  their  weapons, 
and  their  steady  fortitude  when  face  to  face  with  an  enemy  in  overwhelm- 
ing numbers — more  than  twelve  to  one.  Nothing  could  be  finer  than  the 
fortitude  of  the  commanding  officer,  Colonel  Forsyth,  who,  though  twice 
wounded  and  with  a  broken  leg,  continued  to  direct  and  command  during 
the  nine  days  that  the  siege  lasted.  Another  illustration  of  heroic  cour- 
age was  that  of  the  men  creeping  out  of  the  entrenchments,  taking  the 
risk  of  being  captured  and  tortured,  yet  successfully  getting  through  the 
large  body  of  Indians  that  surrounded  the  little  command.  The  old 
frontiersmen  "  Pet "  Trudeau  and  "  Jack  "  Stilwell,  the  latter  not  much 
more  than  a  boy,  were  the  first  to  make  the  attempt,  and  their  success 
was  complete.  It  was  one  of  the  most  notable  feats  in  the  records  of 
border  warfare. 

At  midnight  of  September  the  17th  they  left  General  Forsyth's  com- 
mand in  company,  started  south,  and  after  crawling  through  the  lines 
immediately  surrounding  the  island,  with  their  blankets  on  and  wearing 
moccasins  they  had  made  from  their  boot  tops,  they  passed  out  over  a  bald 
hill,  thinking  it  better  to  make  the  attempt  in  that  direction  than  to  try 
to  crawl  out  by  some  of  the  ravines,  which  they  had  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve were  full  of  Indians.  It  afterward  transpired  in  conversation  be- 
tween Stilwell  and  some  of  these  same  Indians,  that  they  made  a  lucky  stroke 
in  not  attempting  to  make  their  escape  either  by  the  water-course  or 
the  ravines  adjacent.  They  were  headed  off  and  interrupted  so  often  by 
seeing  Indians  that  they  only  succeeded  that  night  in  making  three  miles, 
which  brought  them  almost  to  the  top  of  the  divide  between  the  Arickaree 
and  South  Republican.  They  crawled  into  a  washout,  or  head  of  a  hollow, 
the  banks  of  which  were  overgrown  with  tall  grass  and  sunflowers,  where 
they  were  satisfied  they  would  not  be  found  that  day,  as  they  had  been 
careful  to  leave  no  trail  behind  them.  They  could  hear  the  firing  all  day 
long  and  at  night  they  knew  that  their  party  was  still  holding  out. 

As  soon  as  it  became  dark  they  started  south  again,  meeting  two  par- 
ties of  Indians  during  the  night,  which  delayed  them  considerably  ;  and 
just  at  daylight  on  the  second  morning  they  reached  the  South  Republican, 


148  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

to  find  that  they  had  gotten  within  about  half  a  mile  of  the  Sioux  and 
Cheyenne  village,  something  they  did  not  expect.  It  was  learned  after- 
ward that  the  trail  turned  south  about  one  mile  west  of  where  the  battle 
was  going  on. 

They  crawled  under  the  river  bank  and  got  between  the  river  and  a  kind 
of  bayou,  in  the  tall  grass,  and  lay  there  the  remainder  of  that  day. 

The  Indians  crossed  very  near  them  during  the  day  ;  in  fact  they  lay 
not  over  thirty  feet  away  from  where  the  latter  stopped  and  watered  their 
horses  and  talked  for  some  time.  They  could  hear  the  Indians  mourning 
in  the  village  for  their  dead,  and  also  saw  them  taking  out  several  bodies 
for  sepulture  on  scaffolds. 

That  night  as  soon  as  it  was  dark  they  crossed  the  south  fork  of  the 
Republican  and  started  south  again.  The  morning  of  the  third  day  found 
them  on  the  high  rolling  prairie  between  the  head  of  Goose  Creek  and  the 
stream  they  had  just  left.  They  had  decided  now  to  travel  in  day  time  ; 
but  by  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  they  saw  the  advance  of  what  they 
afterward  learned  was  the  Dog  Soldiers,  separated  and  moving  south  from 
the  Sioux,  the  latter  going  north.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to  change 
their  plans  for  the  day. 

In  looking  for  a  place  to  hide  they  accidentally  discovered  some  yellow 
weeds  growing  up  around  a  buffalo  carcass.  They  crawled  to  the  carcass 
with  the  intention  of  breaking  the  weeds  off  to  cover  themselves  with,  so  as 
to  more  effectually  hide.  The  buffalo  had  evidently  been  killed  the  winter 
before,  as  the  frame  was  almost  intact,  with  a  small  piece  of  hide  still  ad- 
hering to  the  upper  ribs.  They  crawled  in  as  near  as  possible  to  this  dried 
carcass  and  lay  there.  One  of  the  mounted  Indian  scouts  approached  very 
near  during  the  morning,  scanning  the  country  in  all  directions  for  over 
half  an  hour,  and  not  over  one  hundred  yards  from  where  they  lay. 

It  was  then  that  the  "  rattlesnake  business,"  so  widely  published,  took 
place.  There  was  a  snake  in  the  carcass,  and  he  crawled  around  and  made 
it  very  uncomfortable  for  his  new  neighbors.  Stilwell  finally  spit  tobacco 
juice  on  his  head  which  caused  him  to  vacate  the  premises. 

That  night  Trudeau  broke  down  completely,  and  seemed  for  a  while  to 
lose  his  mind;  but  after  they  had  reached  some  water  and  he  had  drunk 
freely  of  it,  and  after  he  had  vomited  two  or  three  times,  Stilwell  persuaded 
him  to  eat  a  piece  of  the  horse  meat  he  had  in  his  pocket.  This  revived 
him.  and  they  traveled  on. 

The  fourth  morning  being  foggy  they  had  no  trouble  in  traveling  by 
day  time.  They  struck  the  Denver  wagon  road  about  eleven  o'clock,  about 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


149 


twenty  miles  west  of  Fort  Wallace  and  met  two  mounted  couriers  going 
to  Colonel  Carpenter's  command,  then  lying  at  Lake  Station,  some  sixty 
miles  from  where  General  Forsyth  was  besieged.  They  gave  the  couriers 
a  full  account  of  what  had  happened,  and  told  them  as  nearly  as  possible 
General  Forsyth's  position.  Colonel  Carpenter,  as  soon  as  these  men  ar- 
rived, responded  promptly  and  marched  with  his  entire  force  to  General 
Forsyth's  relief,  meeting  a  second  party  of  two  that  had  also  come  through 
the  Indian  lines;  which  accounts  for  this  last  two  getting  back  to  Forsyth 
before  Stilwell  and  Trudeau  did.  The  latter  reached  Fort  Wallace  just 
at  sundown  and  reported  to  Major  Bankhead,  who  was  in  command. 
Bankhead  had  but  twelve  mounted  men  in  the  post.  He  took  the 


m- 


THE  SCOUTS  AND  THE  RATTLESNAKE. 


fantry  in  wagons,  together  with  two  small  cannon  —  his  command  consisted 
of  about  130  men  —  and  with  Trudeau  and  Stilwell  started  back  at  mid- 
night, traveling  night  and  day  with  the  exception  of  one  night,  when 
they  camped  on  what  was  called  Thick  Timber,  a  small  stream  running 
into  the  Republican,  where  they  had  a  little  brush  with  the  Indians,  and  ar- 
rived at  the  island  the  next  day  after  Colonel  Carpenter  had  got  there. 

Trudeau  never  recovered,  but  died  the  next  spring.  He  lies  buried  at 
Fort  Sill,  Oklahoma  Territory. 

Judge  S.  E.  Stilwell  is  now  a  United  States  Commissioner  at  Anadarko, 
Oklahoma  Territory. 


150  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

It  was  afterwards  admitted  by  the  Indians  themselves  that  not  less 
than  seventy-five  of  their  own  number  had  been  killed. 

After  this  affair  troops  were  sent  to  the  field  of  action  from  other 
departments.  The  services  of  volunteers  from  Kansas  were  accepted, 
and  operations  against  the  hostiles  were  pressed.  General  Ouster  was  sent 
south  with  eleven  companies,  and  struck  the  trail  of  a  band  of  Cheyennes 
under  Black  Kettle.  On  the  27th  of  November  he  came  upon  the  Cheyenne 
camp,  consisting  of  fifty-one  lodges,  and  with  his  usual  impetuosity  charged 
upon  the  village.  The  weather  was  cold  and  snow  lay  deep  on  the  ground. 
Black  Kettle  and  a  number  of  his  warriors  were  killed,  all  the  arms  and 
ammunition  captured,  fifty-three  women  and  children  were  taken  pris- 
oners and  the  village  was  destroyed. 

On  Christmas  day,  1868,  a  Comanche  village  was  burned,  and  General 
Sheridan  regarded  his  winter  campaign  as  having  proved  a  success.  At 
midnight  on  the  last  day  of  the  year,  to  quote  his  own  words,  "a  delegation 
of  the  chief  fighting  men  of  the  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes,  twenty-one  in 
all,  arrived  at  this  place  on  foot,  their  animals  not  being  able  to  carry 
them.  They  had  ruled  the  village.  They  begged  for  peace,  and  permission 
for  their  people  to  come  in,  asking  no  terms,  but  for  a  paper  to  protect 
them  from  the  operations  of  our  troops  while  en  route.  They  report  the 
tribes  in  mourning  for  their  losses,  their  people  starving,  their  dogs  all 
eaten  up,  and  no  buffalo." 

"  This,"  he  reports,  "  gives  the  final  blow  to  the  backbone  of  the  Indian 
rebellion;"  which,  however,  proved  to  be  only  a  temporary  check.  The 
troops  were  at  no  time  able  to  close  with  the  main  body  of  the  Indians,  and 
while  Custer's  pursuit  and  attack  was  a  success  so  far  as  one  particular 
band  was  concerned,  yet  even  that  success  was  not  achieved  without  serious 
loss.  Major  Joel  H.  Elliott,  while  in  pursuit  of  a  portion  of  Black  Kettle's 
band  which  had  escaped,  overtook  them  on  the  Washita,  where  they 
turned,  and  being  reinforced  by  warriors  from  the  main  camp,  destroyed 
his  entire  command. 

Through  the  earnest  solicitation  and  coaxing  by  those  in  charge  of  the 
administration  of  Indian  affairs,  the  Indians  were  at  last  induced  to  come 
in  and  make  a  display  of  surrender  and  peaceful  disposition,  and  it  was 
again  officially  announced  that  the  end  of  the  Indian  wars  had  been 
reached.  The  prophecy  was  made  that  no  more  would  occur  in  the  south- 
west, yet  as  these  same  troops  returned  north,  moving  back  toward  their 
various  stations  in  the  early  spring  of  1869,  the  Indians  followed,  and  re- 
opened hostilities  by  depredations  upon  the  settlements  along  the  Saline, 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  151 

the  Solomon,  and  the  Republican  Rivers,  in  Kansas,  and  a  condition  of 
affairs  very  similar  to  war  was  inaugurated,  and  continued  for  five  years. 
The  Indians  practically  remained  masters  of  the  plains  country  up  to  1874. 

My  first  impression  of  the  plains  country  was  obtained  after  leaving 
Fort  Leavenworth,  in  the  Spring  of  1869,  as  we  passed  out  through  the  fer- 
tile valleys  of  Kansas  to  what  was  then  the  terminus  of  the  western  rail- 
way system,  Ellsworth.  There  we  took  a  construction  train,  which  was 
carrying  rails  and  material,  a  short  distance  further  to  the  westward  to 
what  was  then  known  as  Fort  Hays,  where  I  found  the  headquarters  of  my 
regiment,  the  Fifth  United  States  Infantry.  The  plains  were  then  a  wild, 
weird  waste  of  rolling  prairie  and  valley.  Along  the  lowlands  and  river 
courses  were  occasionally  trees  and  tall  grass,  with  here  and  there  a  grove 
or  small  forest,  but  generally  speaking,  the  face  of  the  upland  country  was 
covered  with  a  close  mat  or  carpet  of  buffalo  grass  not  more  than  one  or 
two  inches  in  height,  while  on  the  hillsides  sage  brush  and  bunch  grass 
were  found. 

General  Custer  had  a  command  near  Fort  Hays  at  that  time,  and 
while  I  had  known  this  gallant  young  general  during  the  war,  I  had  never 
had  opportunity  to  see  much  of  him  and  his  gentle  and  refined  wife,  who, 
whenever  possible,  accompanied  him  in  camp  and  field.  Mrs.  Miles  being 
with  me,  we  frequently  met  them  socially,  and  enjoyed  many  hunts  and 
pleasure  parties  together.  Little  did  we  think  at  that  time  that  the  one 
who  had  won  such  high  distinction  as  a  cavalry  leader  and  able  general  in 
the  great  civil  war,  should  within  the  next  few  years  win  a  special  renown 
as  one  of  the  prominent  frontier  officers,  and  meet  so  tragic  a  death— 

"  In  a  barren  land  and  lone 
Where  the  Big  Horn  and  the  Yellowstone" 

unite,  or  that  his  wife  in  becoming  the  faithful  historian  of  his  life 
and  stirring  deeds  would  herself  attain  marked  distinction  in  the  field  of 
literature,  as  well  as  popularity  on  the  rostrum. 

My  first  experience  upon  the  plains  was  romantic  and  filled  with  novel 
and  exciting  incidents.  Here  we  found  abundance  of  game,  including 
buffalo,  deer  and  antelope,  and  here,  with  Custer  and  a  party  of  officers 
and  soldiers,  I  enjoyed  my  first  buffalo  chase.  I  came  to  look  on  my 
horses  and  dogs  as  friends  and  companions.  The  former  were  used  in  the 
chase  and  the  latter  in  the  pursuit  of  small  game.  Here  I  watched  the 
tremendous  strides  that  were  making  in  the  construction  of  railroads  and 
the  extension  of  channels  of  communication  and  commerce,  and  the  steady 


152 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


westward  march  of  settlements  as  the  long  trains  of  cars  came  laden  with 
immigrants,  not  only  from  the  East,  but  from  all  parts  of  Europe,  and 
established  hamlet  after  hamlet,  and  village  after  village,  farther  and  still 
farther  toward  the  western  horizon. 

Later  I  took  station  at  Fort  Marker,  which  was  found  more  agreeable 
and  more  within  the  confines  of  civilization,  and  still  later  at  Fort  Leaven- 
worth,  one  of  the  most  delightful  of  posts,  of  which  I  have  already  given 
some  account. 

After  the  establishment  of  the  Council  of  Indian  Delegates  at  Ocmulgee, 
Indian  Territory,  in  December,  1870,  an  effort  was  made  on  .the  part  of  the 
government  to  place  all  the  Indians  in  the  United 
States  on  separate  tracts  of  land  or  reservations,  there 
to  be  guarded  against  all  molestation  from  the  whites. 
That  the  Indians  might  take  kindly  to  this  plan  it 
was  proposed  that  the  reservations  should  be  large 
enough  to  provide  ample  room  for  their  reasonable 
needs,  say  six  hundred  acres  to  each.  It  was  not  ex- 
pected that  all  the  tribes  would  readily  assent  to  the 
proposition,  as  it  contemplated  their  removal 
from  familiar  haunts  to  remote  parts  of  the 
country,  and  in  fact  the  opposition  to  such  ef- 
forts at  removal  brought  about  many  difficulties 
with  them.  The  "  Modoc  War  "  was  a  case  in 
point.  This  tribe  numbered  only  a  few  hun- 
dred, and  were  removed  by  the  government 
from  their  fine  lands  near  the  boundary  line 
between  Oregon  and  California  to  a  reservation 
where  the  soil  was  so  poor  that  they  would 
not  accept  it,  and  went  back  in  wrath  to  their  old  homes,  in  defiance  of 
the  United  States  authorities. 

Finding  that  a  determined  attempt  was  about  to  be  made  to  bring  them 
into  subjection,  a  few  of  the  Modocs,  under  the  leadership  of  Captain  Jack 
and  Scarfaced  Charley,  withdrew  to  the  lava  beds  to  make  the  best  resist- 
ance in  their  power.  Here  they  were  surrounded,  but  they  held  out  stoutly, 
and  it  seemed  impossible  to  dislodge  them.  In  their  inaccessible  fastnesses 
they  could  defy  a  hundred  times  their  number,  and  it  was  plain  that  many 
lives  would  have  to  be  sacrificed  before  they  were  whipped  into  submission. 
April  11,  1873,  four  members  of  the  Peace  Commission,  headed  by  Ma- 
jor-General  Edward  E.  S.  Canby,  met  the  leaders  of  the  disaffected  band 


CAPTAIN  JACK. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


153 


under  a  flag  of  truce.  While  the  conference  was  in  progress  the  Indians 
suddenly,  upon  a  preconcerted  signal,  assailed  the  white  men,  killing 
General  Canby  and  Dr.  Thomas  on  the  spot  and  badly  wounding  Dr. 
Meacham. 

From  this  time  the  war  was  pushed  with  vigor,  and  in  July  following 
they  were  forced  to  surrender.     Captain  Jack  and  two  associates  were 


ty/.n 

^K. 

IN  THE  LAVA   BEDS. 


tried,  convicted  and  hanged 
for  the  murder  of  the  commis- 
sioners, and  the  remainder 
were  removed  to  a  reservation 
where  they  adopted  peaceful 
pursuits,  and  ever  since  have 
remained  peaceful. 

General  Canby  was  one  of 

the  ablest  officers  that  ever  held  a  commission   under  our  government. 

The   General   Commanding  the   Army   paid  him   a  deserved  tribute   in 

General  orders,  as  follows  :— 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY,  ) 
WASHINGTON,  April  14,  1873.  \ 
General  Orders,  JVo  3. 

It  again  becomes  the  sad  duty  of  the  general  to  announce   to  the  army  the  death  of 
one  of  our  most  illustrious  and  most  honored  comrades. 


154  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

Brigadier-General  Edward  R.  S.  Canby,  commanding  the  Department  of  the  Columbia, 
was,  on  Friday  last,  April  11,  shot  dead  by  the  chief  "Jack,"  while  he  was  endeavoring  to 
mediate  for  the  removal  of  the  Modocs  from  their  present  rocky  fastness  on  the  northern 
border  of  California  to  a  reservation  where  the  tribe  could  be  maintained  and  protected 
by  the  proper  civil  agents  of  the  government. 

That  such  a  life  should  have  been  sacrificed  in  such  a  cause  will  ever  be  a  source  of 
regret  to  his  relations  and  friends;  yet  the  general  trusts  that  all  good  soldiers  will  be 
consoled  in  knowing  that  General  Canby  lost  his  life  "  on  duty  "  and  in  the  execution  of 
his  office,  for  he  had  been  specially  chosen  and  appointed  for  this  delicate  and  dangerous 
trust  by  reason  of  his  well-known  patience  and  forbearance,  his  entire  self-abnegation,  and 
fidelity  to  the  expressed  wishes  of  his  government,  and  his  large  experience  in  dealing 
with  the  savage  Indians  of  America. 

He  had  already  completed  the  necessary  military  preparations  to  enforce  obedience 
to  the  conclusion  of  the  Peace  Commissioners,  after  which  he  seems  to  have  accompanied 
them  to  a  last  conference  with  the  savage  chiefs  in  supposed  friendly  council,  and  there 
met  his  death  by  treachery,  outside  of  his  military  lines,  but  within  view  of  the  signal 
station.  At  the  same  time  one  of  the  Peace  Commissioners  was  killed  outright,  and 
another  mortally  wounded,  and  the  third  escaped  unhurt. 

Thus  perished  one  of  the  kindest  and  best  gentlemen  of  this  or  any  country, 
whose  social  equalled  his  military  virtues.  To  even  sketch  his  army  history  would  pass 
the  limits  of  a  general  order,  and  it  must  here  suffice  to  state  that  General  Canby  began 
his  military  career  as  a  cadet  at  West  Point  in  the  summer  of  1835,  graduating  in  1839, 
since  which  time  he  has  continually  served  thirty-eight  years,  passing  through  all  the 
grades  to  major-general  of  volunteers  and  brigadier-general  of  the  regular  army. 

He  served  his  early  life  with  marked  distinction  in  the  Florida  and  Mexican  Wars, 
and  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  found  him  on  duty  in  New  Mexico,  where,  after  the 
defection  of  his  seniors,  he  remained  in  command  and  defended  the  country  successfully 
against  a  formidable  inroad  from  the  direction  of  Texas.  Afterward  transferred  east  to 
a  more  active  and  important  sphere,  he  exercised  various  high  commands,  and,  at  the  close 
of  the  Civil  War  was  in  command  of  the  Military  Division  of  the  West  Mississippi,  in  which 
he  had  received  a  painful  wound,  but  had  the  honor  to  capture  Mobile,  and  compel  the 
surrender  of  the  rebel  forces  in  the  Southwest. 

Since  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  he  has  repeatedly  been  chosen  for  special  command  by 
reason  of  his  superior  knowledge  of  law  and  civil  government,  his  known  fidelity  to  the 
wishes  of  the  Executive,  and  his  chivalrous  devotion  to  his  profession,  in  all  which  his 
success  was  perfect. 

When  fatigued  by  a  long  and  laborious  career,  in  1869,  he  voluntarily  consented  to 
take  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Columbia,  where  he  expected  to  enjoy  the  repose 
he  so  much  coveted.  This  Modoc  difficulty  arising  last  winter,  and  it  being  extremely 
desirous  to  end  it  by  peaceful  means,  it  seemed  almost  providential  that  it  should  have 
occurred  in  the  sphere  of  General  Canby's  command. 

He  responded  to  the  call  of  his  government  with  alacrity,  and  has  labored  with  a  pa- 
tience that  deserved  better  success  —  but  alas  !  the  end  is  different  from  that  which  lie  and 
his  best  friends  had  hoped  for  and  he  now  lies  a  corpse  in  the  wild  mountains  of  Califor- 
nia, while  the  lightning  flashes  his  requiem  to  the  furthermost  corners  of  the  civilized 
world. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


155 


Though  dead,  the  record  of  his  fame  is  resplendent  with  noble  deeds  well  done,  and  no 
name  on  our  Army  Register  stands  fairer  or  higher  for  the  personal  qualities  that  command 
the  universal  respect,  honor,  affection  and  love  of  his  countrymen. 

General  Canby  leaves  to  his  country  a  heart-broken  widow,  but  no  children. 
Every  honor  consistent  with  law  and  usage  shall  be  paid  to  his  remains,  full  notice  of 
which  will  be  given  as  soon  as  his  family  can  be  consulted  and  arrangements  concluded. 

By  command  of  General  Sherman, 
WILLIAM  D.  WHIPPLE,  Assistant  Adjutant-General. 


M— 10 


156  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XI. 
CAMPAIGNS  IN  TEXAS. 

CAUSES     OP     INDIAN     DEPREDATIONS — CONSTRUCTION    OP     THE     TRANS-CONTINENTAL    RAILWAYS 

—  DESTRUCTION   OF  THE   BUFFALO  —  DISASTER  TO  THE   GERMAINE   FAMILY  —  ATTACK  ON 

ADOBE  WALLS  —  ORGANIZING  AN  EXPEDITIONARY  FORCE  AGAINST  THE  HOSTILES  — 

UNFORTUNATE   CONDITION  OF  WESTERN   KANSAS  —  DROUTH  —  LOCUSTS  — 

MARCH  UNDER  A  BURNING  SUN  INTO  THE  COUNTRY  OF  THE  HOSTILES 

—  DESCRIPTION     OP    THE    COUNTRY  —  GYPSUM    BELT  — 

ON  THE  INDIAN  TRAIL  —  THE  INDIANS  AT  BAY  — 

AN    EXCITING    ENGAGEMENT  —  A    HOT 

PURSUIT  —  APOSTROPHE  TO   THE 

RED  RIVER  —  A  NORTHER 

AND  A  DELUGE. 

URING  the  progress  of  the  events  I  have  described,  there  was  no 
long  period  during  which  the  frontier  settlements  were  entirely 
secure  from  the  devastations  of  marauding  bands  of  Indians. 
Yet,  after  a  long  season  of  mingled  peace  and  war,  the  main 
camps  had  been  gathered  in  and  given  reservations  in  the  Indian 
and  other  Territories.  These  bodies  of  Indians  numbered  many 
thousands,  and  while  they  were  apparently  at  peace  they  were 
constantly  sending  out  bands,  large  and  small,  which  were  committing 
depredations  upon  the  settlers  of  Texas,  Kansas,  Colorado,  New  Mexico, 
Nebraska,  Montana,  and  Dakota.  Among  the  causes  of  a  want  of  security 
was  the  fact  that  these  wild  savages  were  placed  in  large  numbers  on 
reservations  remote  from  civilization  and  under  no  control,  restraint,  or 
influence  stronger  than  that  exercised  by  u  single  agent,  appointed  usually 
on  account  of  some  political  consideration.  They  saw  only  the  worst  fea- 
tures of  civilization,  being  subjected  in  very  slight  degree,  if  at  all,  to 
the  enlightening  influences  which  exist  among  civilized  people. 

Accustomed  as  they  were  from  childhood  to  the  wild  excitement  of  the 
chase,  or  of  conflict  with  some  other  hostile  tribe,  taught  that  to  kill  was 
noble  and  to  labor  degrading,  these  Indians  could  not  suddenly  change 
their  natures  and  become  peaceable  agriculturists.  Without  occupation, 
they  led  a  listless,  indolent  life,  the  very  foundation  of  vice  and  crime. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  157 

Through  direct  and  indirect  means  they  were  permitted  and  encouraged 
to  provide  themselves  with  the  most  modern  and  improved  weapons,  and 
the  use  of  these  weapons  inflamed  their  savage  natures  and  gave  them  un- 
due confidence  in  their  own  strength. 

One  of  the  strongest  causes  of  unrest  among  them,  and  one  that  will 
have  the  same  influence  upon  any  people,  was  the  fact  that  the  promises 
made  them  to  induce  them  to  go  on  reservations  were  not  always  carried 
out  by  the  government  authorities.  They  had  been  removed  from  their 
natural  source  of  supply,  the  direct  range  of  the  buffalo,  but  under  distinct 
treaty  stipulation  that  they  were  to  be  provided  with  shelter,  clothing  and 
sustenance  sufficient  in  quantity  and  quality  to  satisfy  their  wants.  Part 
of  these  treaty  stipulations  were  not  fulfilled.  They  were  sometimes  for 
weeks  without  their  bread-rations.  Their  annual  allowance  of  food 
was  usually  exhausted  in  six  or  seven  months.  Thus  they  were  either 
overfed  or  half-starved  ;  a  condition  which  very  naturally  tended  to  create 
great  dissatisfaction  among  them  and  arouse  their  turbulent  spirits.  They 
would  usually  remain  peaceable  during  the  winter,  but  an  outbreak  in  the 
spring  or  summer  was  the  usual  result.  Another  cause  for  dissatisfaction 
was  the  rapid  construction  of  railways  west,  or  southwest  through  their 
territory,  and  the  steady  advance  of  the  settlement  toward  the  setting  sun. 

The  construction  of  the  railways,  and  the  building  of  towns  and  villages 
along  the  valleys  that  they  had  occupied  for  generations,  resulted  in  the 
destruction  of  their  places  of  sepulture,  or  the  receptacles  their  customs 
provided  for  the  repose  of  their  dead,  which  were  regarded  by  them  as 
most  sacred.  One  instance  of  this  kind  occurred  near  Wallace,  Kansas, 
where  a  wood-contractor  had  set  a  large  body  of  men  to  work  cutting 
wood  in  the  beautiful  grove  among  the  branches  of  which  the  Indians  had 
for  many  years  been  accustomed  to  deposit  the  remains  of  their  dead. 
This  they  did  by  placing  the  corpse,  attired  in  the  richest  garments  they 
owned,  bedecked  with  all  the  most  beautiful  ornaments  and  paraphernalia 
of  which  they  were  possessed,  and  wrapped  in  shrouds,  blankets  or  robes, 
upon  a  platform  built  among  the  branches  of  the  trees.  This  forest  held 
the  remains  of  hundreds  of  the  departed,  who  according  to  the  Indian  be- 
lief had  gone  to  the  spirit  land.  Annually,  or  whenever  the  camp  moved 
into  that  vicinity,  the  relatives  of  the  departed  were  accustomed  to  come 
and,  making  offerings  to  their  spirits,  depositing  some  article  valuable  to 
them  at  the  base  of  the  tree  or  scaffold  in  token  of  remembrance  and  af- 
fection, to  chant  their  requiems  and  make  their  accustomed  demonstra- 
tions of  mourning,  frequently  cutting  their  flesh  as  a  mark  of  deep  grief 


158 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


and  devotion  for  the  loved  ones  who  had  passed  beyond  this  life.  When 
it  was  seen  by  the  Indians  that  the  woodmen  were  about  to  cut  down  the 
trees  of  this  grove,  they  sent  a  deputation  to  the  contractor  to  beg  him  to 

spare  their  cemetery,  as  it  was  to  them 
a  sacred  spot.    But  their  prayers  were 
ruthlessly     disregarded.       So 
intensely  did  this    outrage 
move  the  tribe,  that  they  set 
out  to  obtain  revenge  by 
the  murder  of  every  white 
inhabitant   they    could 
find  in  that  vicinity. 

Another  cause  of  dis- 
satisfaction, of  which  I 
have    already  spoken, 
was  the  destruction  of 
the  vast  herds  of  buffa- 
loes, their  main  depend- 
ence for  subsistence  in 
their   wild    state.      The 
buffalo    furnished   them 
food,  raiment  and   shelter. 
It  gave  them  about  all  that 
they  desired.   But  the  enterpris- 
ing frontiersman  had  found  in  the 
buffalo  a  source  of  revenue,  and  more 
than  a  thousand  men  were  engaged  in  their 
destruction    simply   for  the   hides    which  were 
shipped  in  immense  quantities  to  the  East  to  be 
used    in   the  manufacture   of   belting,  harness- 
leather,  and  for  other  purposes.     Colonel  Richard 
Irving  Dodge  in  his  book  on  "  The  Plains  of  the 
West,"  published  in  1877.  has  gone  into  this  sub- 
ject with  great  care,  and  his  figures  are  undoubt- 
edly entitled  to  the  utmost   credit.     From  him 
we  learn  that  754,329  hides,  exclusive  of  robes, 
were  shipped  east  in  the  year  1873  alone,   over 
Topeka    and    Santa    Fe,    the    Kansas    Pacific    and    the 
railways,   and  that  during  the  three  years  1872,  1873,  and 


INDIAN  MODE  OP  BURIAI,. 

the   Atchison, 
Union  Pacific 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


159 


WHAT  BECAME  OF  THE  BITFALOES. 


1874,  there  were  killed  4.378.730  buffaloes.  But  in  this  estimate, 
enormous  as  it  is,  no  account  was  taken  of  the  immense  number  of 
buffaloes  killed  by  hunters  who  came  into  the  range  from  the 
white  frontier  and  took  their  hides  out  by  wagons  ;  of  the  immense 
numbers  killed  every  year  by 
the  hunters  from  New  Mexico. 
Colorado,  Texas  and  Indian 
Territory  ;  of  the  numbers 
killed  by  the  Utes,  Bannocks, 
and  other  mountain  tribes  who 
made  every  year  their  fall  hunt 
on  the  plains.  Nor  did  he  in- 
clude the  numbers  sent  from 
the  Indian  country  by  other 
roads  than  those  named  to  St. 
Louis,  Memphis  and  elsewhere, 
or  the  immense  numbers  going 
as  robes  to  California,  Mon- 
tana, Idaho,  and  the  great 
West,  nor  of  the  still  greater  numbers  taken  each  year  from  the  Territory 
by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  All  these  would,  says  Colonel  Dodge, 
add  another  million  to  the  already  almost  incredible  list  of  slaughtered 
buffaloes. 

This  wholesale  destruction  of  their  main  dependence  exasperated  the 
Indians  to  an  intense  degree,  and  the  tribes  of  the  Kiowas,  Comanches, 
Cheyennes,  and  Arapahoes  held  a  great  council  at  Medicine  Lodge,  Indian 
Territory,  to  take  united  and  vigorous  action  in  regard  thereto.  There 
their  grievances  and  woes  were  proclaimed  and  possibly  exaggerated,  but 
the  result  was  a  general  determination  to  make  war  upon  the  whites. 
This  purpose  they  proceeded  immediately  to  carry  into  execution.  Most  of 
the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  left  their  reservations  at  once;  the  Coman- 
ches and  Kiowas  followed  later.  Moving  from  the  central  part  of  Indian 
Territory  out  westerly  into  the  buffalo  range,  they  sent  out  subsidiary  ex- 
peditions to  prey  upon  the  white  settlements  in  various  directions,  prin- 
cipally in  western  Kansas  and  New  Mexico.  One  of  the  tragic  incidents 
of  these  marauding  expeditions  was  the  catastrophe  to  the  Germaine  fam- 
ily. This  family  consisted  of  the  parents,  one  son  who  was  a  grown  man. 
and  five  daughters.  Formerly  they  had  lived  in  the  State  of  Georgia,  later 
in  western  Missouri,  and  were  now  moving  thence  to  Colorado.  They  were 


160  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

fairly  well  equipped  with  wagons,  a  few  horses  and  some  other  stock. 
They  had  passed  through  as  they  hoped,  the  dangerous  district  and  ex- 
pected to  arrive  at  a  place  of  safety  the  next  day,  when  suddenly  a  band 
of  warriors  appeared,  killing  the  man  and  his  wife,  also  the  son  who  was  a 
short  distance  away  just  returning  from  a  hunt  for  game,  and  taking  the 
girls  captives.  After  traveling  a  short  distance  they  decided  for  some 
reason  not  to  keep  the  eldest  daughter,  a  woman  grown,  and  killed  her  in 
the  presence  of  her  four  sisters.  These  were  aged  respectively  fifteen, 
thirteen,  nine,  and  seven.  We  shall  have  occasion  later  to  refer  to  these 
unfortunate  captives,  as  their  history  is  interwoven  with  some  of  the  stir- 
ring events  of  the  campaign  that  followed. 

One  of  the  first  attacks  in  force  was  upon  those  whom  they  hated 
most — the  buffalo  hunters.  A  large  camp  of  these  hunters  located  at  what 
was  known  as  Adobe  Walls,  a  trading  post  on  the  Canadian  River  in  the 
Pan  Handle  of  Texas,  and  this  the  Indians  attempted  to  capture  by  sur- 
prise. It  was  their  intention  to  annihilate  the  whole  band  of  hunters  at 
the  first  dash.  In  the  latter  part  of  June,  two  hundred  warriors  made  a 
descent  upon  the  camp,  but  unfortunately  for  them  the  .day  happened  to 
be  Sunday,  when  the  buffalo  hunters  were  all  gathered  in  for  a  day  of  rest 
and  recreation  and  were  therefore  together  in  full  strength.  The  Indians 
made  the  attack  suddenly  and  in  the  most  determined  manner.  The 
hunters  being  most  expert  in  the  use  of  the  rifle  and  accustomed  to  accu- 
rate shooting,  and,  fighting  from  behind  the  thick  protecting  walls  of  the 
building,  were  cool  and  careful  in  their  aim  and  played  sad  havoc  with  the 
charging  Indians.  Nearly  thirty  of  these  were  killed  outright  and  sixty  or 
seventy  others  were  wounded.  It  was  a  serious  blow  to  the  Indians. 
They  had  shown  remarkable  courage,  frequently  pushing  right  up  to  the 
stockade  and  fighting  almost  hand  to  hand  trying  to  break  down  the  doors. 
The  fight  was  kept  up  for  several  hours,  and  then  for  three  days  they 
maintained  a  siege.  It  was  an  old-fashioned  fight  of  frontiersmen  against 
rude  warriors,  in  which  the  latter  were  no  match  for  the  skilled  riflemen. 

The  Indian's  marksmanship  is  very  accurate  within  the  range  to  which 
he  is  accustomed  in  killing  game — say  within  two  hundred  yards;  but  in 
the  use  of  the  long-range  rifle,  where  he  must  take  account  of  the  elevated 
sights,  the  distance  and  the  effect  of  the  wind  upon  the  flight  of  the  bullet, 
he  is  inexperienced  and  in  no  way  a  match  for  his  more  intelligent 
enemy.  Troops  arrived  there  some  days  after  the  siege  had  been 
raised,  and  the  scene  which  met  their  gaze  told  a  story  of  the  deprav- 
ity of  these  men,  physically  brave  and  generous  where  Indians  are  not 


Q 

UJ 


O 

IE 


> 

z 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


163 


concerned,  which  needs  no  comment  from  me.  After  stating  the  number 
of  the  dead  buried  by  the  Indians,  the  account  as  transmitted  to  the  eastern 
press,  gravely  adds,  "  Twelve  more  were  left  where  they  fell,  and  the  heads 
of  these  twelve  men  were  found  adorning  the  gateposts  of  the  hunters' 
corral." 

At  this  time  I  was  ordered  to  organize  an  expedition  and  move  down 
from  the  north  against  these  Indians.  At  the  same  time  three  other  col- 
umns were  ordered  to  move  into  the  southwest  from  as  many  different 
directions.  One  under  Colonel  Davidson 
moved  west  from  Fort  Sill,  Indian  Ter- 
ritory; one  under  Colonel 
Mackenzie  moved  north  from 
Fort  Concho,  Texas;  and  one 
under  Major  Price,  with  a 
battalion  of  the  Eighth  Cav- 
alry, moved  east  from  New 
Mexico.  These  columns 
were  all  moving  toward  the 
the  same  locality  and  for  the 
same  general  purpose,  but 
without  any  definite  concert 
of  action. 

My  own  command  was  to 
be  organized  at  Fort  Dodge, 
Kansas.  Part  of  the  forces 
which  were  to  compose  it 
were  taken  by  me  from  Fort 
Leavenworth.  On  the  way 
to  Fort  Dodge  we  passed 
through  that  State  at  a  time 
when  it  was  suffering  from  one  of  the  most  terrible  disasters  that  had 
befallen  it  in  all  its  history.  Not  only  was  its  frontier  infested  with  hostile 
Indians,  but  the  season  was  also  one  of  intense  heat,  the  whole  western 
portion  being  parched,  blistered  and  burnt  up  in  a  universal  drouth.  Added 
to  these  visitations,  the  country  had  become  the  scene  of  such  a  scourge  as 
has  seldom  been  seen  anywhere ;  such  a  one  as  I  have  never  seen  since  and 
hope  never  to  see  again.  The  previous  year  .the  heavens  had  been  dark- 
ened by  a  cloud  of  locusts  coming  from  the  mountain  regions  of  the  West. 
These  pests  had  deposited  their  eggs  in  the  plains  of  Kansas,  and  now 


AFTER  THE  SIEGE. 


164 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


when  these  eggs  were  hatched  the  whole  face  of  the  country  was  covered 
with  a  mass  of  creeping  young  locusts  that  destroyed  all  the  vegetation 
that  had  escaped  the  heat  and  the  drouth.  The  green  cornfields  were 
stripped  of  every  leaf,  and  the  few  stalks  remaining  were  made  to  appear 
as  if  a  fire  had  swept  over  them.  The  grass  and  leaves,  the  flowers  and 
shrubs,  were  all  consumed  by  these  myriads  of  destroying  insects.  Not  a 
vestige  of  vegetation  was  to  be  seen  in  the  line  of  their  pestiferous  march. 
My  command  when  fully  organized  at  Fort  Dodge  consisted  of  eight 
troops  of  cavalry  in  two  battalions,  under  Majors  C.  E.  Compton  and 

James  Biddle,  four  com- 
panies of  infantry  under 
Captain  H.  B.  Bristol, 
a  detachment  of  artil- 
lery under  Lieutenant 
James  W.  Pope,  and  a 
body  of  trailers,  guides 
and  scouts  under  Lieu- 
tenant Frank  D.  Bald- 
win. This  force  was 
composed  of  friendly 
Delaware  Indians  and 
a  body  of  twenty-five 
frontiersmen  made  up 
of  expert  riflemen,  pio- 
neers and  plainsmen; 
men  of  known  courage  and  intelligence,  and  possessing  the  best  attainable 
knowledge  of  that  remote  and  unsettled  country. 

On  the  14th  of  August  my  command  moved  south  from  the  Atchison, 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad  at  Fort  Dodge  in  three  columns,  my  object 
being  to  cover  as  wide  an  area  of  country  as  possible  in  order  to  force  a 
concentration  of  the  Indians  on  my  front,  and  also  to  prevent  if  possible 
any  of  their  number  being  left  behind  us.  During  the  first  five  day's 
march,  the  heat,  even  for  the  month  of  August,  being  unusually  intense, 
great  suffering  was  experienced  on  the  part  of  both  the  troops  and  the 
animals.  So  intense,  indeed,  was  this  heat  that  of  the  large  number  of  favor- 
ite dogs  that  had  accompanied  the  train  when  we  moved  from  Fort  Dodge, 
only  two  remained  with  the  command  when  we  reached  Camp  Supply, 
about  a  hundred  miles  south.  At  that  point  the  command  renewed  its 
supplies  and  then  commenced  its  movement  to  the  South  Canadian  River  and 


LOCUST   SCOCROE. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  165 

into  the  country  of  the  Indians,  in  the  western  portion  of  which  they  were 
as  usual  seeking  refuge.  The  command  in  moving  south  from  Camp  Sup- 
ply had  one  of  the  best  plainsmen  for  a  guide.  Ben  Clark,  that  I  have  ever 
known.  His  knowledge  of  the  country  was  remarkable.  Intelligent  and 
reliable,  his  services  were  of  great  value.  This  country, 
comprised  within  the  western  portion  of  the  Indian  Ter- 
ritory, western  Texas,  and  eastern  and  southern  New  Mex- 
ico, has  features  common  to  all  the  elevated  regions  of 
the  interior,  especially  in  respect  to  those  that  are  the 
effect  of  climate,  and  these  constitute  nearly  all  that 
are  of  interest  from  a  military  point  of  view. 

Being  subject  to  long  periods  of  excessive  heat 
and  drouth,  when  its  surface  becomes  imperme- 
able to  water,  and  then  to  sudden  and  most  vio- 
lent storms,  every  considerable  declivity  is  seamed 
and  gashed  by  the  floods  which  the  hardened  soil 
cannot  receive  into  itself,  and  which  rush  to  the 
nearest  outlet.     That  portion  which  has  main- 
tained one  general  level,  or  has  but  slight  eleva- 
tions, forms  what  is  known  as  the  Staked  Plains. 
or  "El  Llano  Estacado"  of  the  Spaniards.     East* 
of  this  vast  plain  lies  a  belt  of  country,   princi-  BEN  CLARK. 

pally  between  99°  30'  and  101°.  which  by  its  geological  formation 
and  surface,  and  the  elevation  of  Mounts  Rochester,  Lyman,  Lewis, 
the  Antelope  Hills,  and  many  buttes  and  mounds  farther  south,  shows  the 
great  washing  away  of  the  Staked  Plains,  which  has  evidently  consumed 
ages  of  time.  This  region  is  broken  into  rolling  prairie  by  a  series  of 
water-courses  heading  in  the  Staked  Plains  and  taking  an  easterly  direc- 
tion, their  breaks  and  ravines  forming  a  rough  and,  in  places,  impassable 
surface.  The  Canadian  River  passes  through  the  Llano  Estacado,  its 
almost  innumerable  tributaries  affording  most  pleasant  and  well-sheltered 
valleys,  with  abundant  timber,  excellent  water  and  grazing.  The  Red 
River,  on  the  contrary,  appears  to  have  cut  its  course  through  the  dead 
level  plains,  making  deep  and  precipitous  canons,  and  it  has  only  four 
tributaries  of  any  importance.  The  soil  of  the  high  plains  is  in  places 
rich  and  well  covered  with  good  grazing,  while  at  others  it  is  very 
light  or  sandy,  and  almost  destitute  of  grass.  Water  is  found  only  in 
lagunas  or  ponds,  and  then  only  at  favorable  seasons  of  the  year.  In  the 
section  of  country  to  the  east,  timber,  rich  soil  and  abundant  grass  are 


1G6  PERSONA],  RECOLLECTIONS  Ol 

found  along  the  water-courses,  while  on  the  high  divides  fair  graz- 
ing is  found,  but  no  timber.  The  above  section,  so  favorable  for  pas- 
turage, is  bounded  and  limited  by  a  broad  belt  of  gypsum  country 
extending  northeast  and  southwest  and  lying  west  of  the  Wichita 
mountains,  and  a  deep  stratum  of  the  same  mineral  apparently  underlies 
the  eastern  portion  of  the  Staked  Plains.  Near  this  stratum  vegetation  is 
of  very  little  or  no  value,  and  the  water  where  it  descends  from  the  high- 
lands, though  excellent  at  its  source,  becomes  so  thoroughly  impregnated 
with  mineral  substances  as  to  make  it  in  places  utterly  useless.  At  other 
places,  although  agreeable  to  the  taste,  it  produces  weakness  and  sickness 
in  both  men  and  animals. 

The  nomadic  Indians,  when  not  hostile  and  not  disturbed,  naturally 
occupied  the  country  which  lies  west  of  the  bitter  waters  of  this  gypsum 
region  and  east  of  the  timberless,  dry  and  unprotected  plains,  and  watered 
by  the  tributaries  of  the  Canadian  and  Red  Rivers.  These  afforded  them 
many  advantages  for  their  families  and  herds,  and  were  their  best  hunting 
grounds.  When  pursued  they  placed  almost  insurmountable  natural  ob- 
stacles behind  them  in  their  retreat,  passing  over  the  rugged  bluffs  and 
through  the  deep  and  precipitous  canons  by  circuitous  trails,  impassable 
for  wagons  and  difficult  for  a  mounted  force  to  follow,  and  sought  refuge 
on  the  extensive  plains,  where  an  approaching  force  could  be  seen  for  a 
long  distance. 

In  pushing  south,  the  scouts  under  Lieutenant  Baldwin,  supported 
by  a  troop  of  cavalry,  were  thrown  well  to  the  west  and  moved  toward 
Adobe  Walls,  where  it  arrived  just  in  time  to  repel  a  second  attack  on  that 
place  by  a  considerable  band  of  Indians.  These  Indians  retreated  south 
before  him,  burning  what  there  was  of  the  prairie  grass  behind  them.  A 
few  days  later,  as  Baldwin  continued  his  march  down  the  Canadian,  he 
surprised  a  small  party  of  Indians  near  the  mouth  of  Chicken  Creek  and 
put  them  to  rout.  Soon  thereafter  he  rejoined  the  main  command  on  its 
march  south  from  Camp  Supply,  ria  Wolf  and  Commission  Creeks,  at  a  point 
twelve  miles  west  of  Antelope  Hills,  the  junction  being  effected  Au- 
gust 24. 

The  chase  now  began  in  earnest,  the  trail  of  the  Indians  running  south- 
west. Camp  was  broken  daily  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  command 
with  its  train  marching  about  twenty-five  miles  each  day,  and  experi- 
encing hardships  and  privations  which  it  is  seldom  the  misfortune  of  man 
to  be  called  upon  to  endure.  In  many  places  no  water  was  to  be  discovered 
in  the  beds  of  the  streams,  and  only  at  long  intervals  were  there  found 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  167 

stagnant  holes  containing  some,  often  impregnated  with  gypsum.  Men 
rushed  in  frenzy  and  drank,  only  to  find  their  thirst  increased  rather  than 
slaked.  Even  coffee  made  with  it  was  found  so  bitter  that  it  could  not  be 
drank.  The  heat  was  almost  unendurable,  the  thermometer  ranging  above 
110  degrees  in  the  shade,  daily.  We  were  marching  through  what  was  at 
that  season  a  desert  waste. 

On  the  27th  the  main  Indian  trail  was  struck  at  the  Sweetwater,  and 
was  followed.  On  the  28th  it  became  plain  that  the  enemy  were  only  a 
short  distance  ahead  of  us.  Our  main  train  was  this  day  left  behind  in 
order  to  expedite  the  pursuit,  and  two  companies  of  troops  were  left  with 
it  as  a  guard.  Only  five  ammunition  wagons  and  two  ambulances  were  re- 
tained with  the  column.  The  trail  grew  fresher  and  fresher,  and  indi- 
cated the  presence  of  large  bodies  of  Indians.  The  troops  were  elated  at 
the  prospect  of  meeting  the  foe;  new  life  was  infused  into  their  weary 
limbs;  and  during  the  ensuing  two  days  they  marched  sixty-five  miles,  in- 
credible as  such  an  accomplishment  may  seem  in  such  a  country;  infantry 
and  cavalry  marching  together. 

On  the  morning  of  the  30th  the  column  was  in  motion  at  four  o'clock, 
the  scouts  as  usual  about  two  miles  in  advance.  At  an  early  hour  it 
emerged  from  the  broken  country  and  struck  a  level  plain  bordered  on  the 
south  side  by  the  steep  bluffs  which  skirt  the  Staked  Plains  or  "  Llano  Es- 
tacado."  The  trail  led  to  an  opening  through  the  bluffs,  and  at  eight 
o'clock  Lieutenant  Baldwin's  detachment  of  scouts  entered  the  hills,  when 
almost  instantly  a  band  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  Indians  charged 
upon  them  from  the  bluffs  on  both  sides. 

The  fight  opened  at  once.  With  that  cool,  deliberate  judgment 
and  courage  which  had  distinguished  him  during  the  war,  and  which 
characterized  him  on  all  subsequent  occasions  of  critical  importance 
and  danger,  Baldwin  handled  his  men  with  consummate  skill,  while 
the  whole  Indian  force  sprang  from  their  places  of  concealment  lin- 
ing the  bluffs.  Baldwin's  frontiersmen  quickly  took  position,  dropped 
on  the  ground,  and  used  their  effective  rifles  to  the  best  advantage. 
His  friendly  Delawares  went  quickly  into  action  and  their  vet- 
eran chief,  old  Fall  Leaf,  over  whose  head  the  storms  of  more  than 
seventy  winters  had  blown,  his  gray  hair  streaming  in  the  wind,  exposed 
himself  conspicuously  as  he  rode  up  and  down  his  line  encouraging  and 
leading  his  men.  The  little  force  held  its  ground  until  reinforced  by  the 
rapid  advance  of  the  cavalry,  which  deployed  at  a  gallop  as  they  moved 
forward. 


168  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

Compton's  and  Biddle's  battalions  were  quickly  thrown  in  line,  the 
former  on  the  right,  the  latter  on  the  left,  and  it  was  a  fine  sight  to  wit- 
ness the  rapidity  and  enthusiasm  with  which  officers  and  men  fiew  to  their 
designated  places  in  the  line.  The  Gatling  guns  under  Lieutenant  Pope 
were  brought  into  action  with  the  same  speed  and  enthusiasm  that  charac- 
terized the  other  arms  of  the  service,  and  an  advance  of  the  whole  line 
was  immediately  ordered.  Captain  T.  C.  Tupper  was  as  conspicuous  as  he 
always  is  when  the  fight  is  on,  and  Captain  A.  R.  Chaff ee  made  one  of  his 
bright,  telling  battlefield  speeches;  he  gave  the  command  to  his  men, 
"  Forward  ! "  and  added,  "  If  any  man  is  killed  I  will  make  him  a  corporal." 
Major  Compton  rode  in  front  of  his  command,  waving  his  hat,  and  led  the 
charge  to  the  hills,  and  as  the  sudden  onset  from  all  parts  of  the  line 
created  dismay  and  panic  in  the  lines  of  the  Indians,  they  retreated  pre- 
cipitously, and  were  followed  for  twenty  miles  over  the  roughest  ground 
that  Iliad  until  that  time  ever  seen  men  fight  upon.  Over  the  rugged  hills 
and  buttes.  and  the  jagged  ravines  and  covei's.  and  across  the  dry  bed  of 
the  Eed  River  which  was  now  covered  with  white,  drifting  sand  where  at 
times  a  great  river  flows,  then  up  the  right  bank  into  the  canon  of  the 
Tule.  a  branch  of  the  Red  River,  through  the  burning  camps  full  of  aban- 
doned utensils,  went  the  flying  Indians.  The  retreat  and  pursuit  were  kept 
up  with  the  utmost  energy,  descending  into  deep  canons  and  scaling  bluffs 
almost  impassable,  some  portion  of  the  Indians  now  and  then  attempting 
to  stem  the  tide  at  some  favorable  point,  upon  which  the  troops  would  in- 
stantly charge  and  carry  their  stronghold,  until  at  last  the  Indians  were 
so  closely  pressed  that  they  could  not  even  make  a  show  of  re-forming,  but 
sped  away  demoralized  and  in  full  flight. 

The  sharp  engagement  and  the  long  and  rapid  pursuit  during  the  in- 
tolerable heat  of  sun  and  earth,  and  the  absence  of  water,  caused  intense 
suffering  among  men  and  beasts.  In  fact  they  were  almost  famished  for 
want  of  water.  On  reaching  the  bed  of  the  Red  River,  which  at  that 
point  was  nearly  half  a  mile  wide,  there  was  only  found  a  small  pool  of 
saturated  gypsum  and  alkali,  the  stagnant  water  being  rendered  utterly 
unfit  for  use.  During  the  chase  the  men  tried  every  means  of  finding 
water,  but  without  avail,  and  suffered  so  greatly  that  some  of  them  re- 
sorted to  the  extreme  of  opening  the  veins  of  their  arms  and  moistening 
their  parched  and  swollen  lips  with  their  own  blood.  This  expedient  to 
relieve  extreme  suffering  has  occurred  on  two  different  occasions  in  my 
commands ;  at  this  time  on  the  Red  River  of  Texas,  and  again  on  the  arid 
plains  of  Arizona. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  169 

A  gallant  young  officer,  who  had  been  a  colonel  of  volunteers  during  the 
great  war,  Adjutant-General  of  the  expedition,  G.  W.  Baird,  Lieutenant  of 
the  Fifth  Infantry,  was  moved  by  the  sufferings  of  himself  and  comrades 
to  wreak  a  fearful  vengeance  on  the  chief  source  of  disappointment,  by 
issuing  a  few  days  later  the  following  apostrophic  and  paralyzing  effusion, 
addressed  to  the  Red  River: 

I. 

O!  Name  that  art  a  lie, 
Thou  tell'st  of  purling  springs, 

Where  sun-browned   farmers  dip 
The  draught,  or  surface  kiss 

With  thirsting,  thankful  lip. 

Thou  tell'st  of  babbling   brooks, 

Where  artless  children  play, 
Along  whose  verdant  banks 

The  happy  lovers  stray, 
Of  leafy-shaded  pools 

Where,  at  the  close  of  day, 
The  home-returning  kine 

Their  lazy  footsteps  stay. 
Thou  tell'fit  of  rolling  streams 

Upon  whose  bosoms  wide 
The  wealth  of  cities  floats 

And  nations'  navies  ride, 
Between  whose  ample  shores 

Rolls  in  the  moon-drawn  tide — 
And  thou  art — what? 
A  name  that  is  a  lie. 

TI. 

Dust-stained,  wearied  and  parched, 

Thirsting,  ready  to  die, 
We  ask  for  one   cooling  drop, 

Which  sullenly  thou  dost  deny, 
While,  up  from  thy  burning  sands, 

As  from  venomed  serpent's  eye, 
Come  sparkles  of  parched  brine 

Which  hope  of  aid  deny — 
Art  sure  the  good  God  made  thee, 

Not  they  who  his  power  defy? 


170  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

III. 

If  in  those  Stygian  realms—- 
Which good  men  shun  and  bad  men  fear — 

Where  grief  fore'er  o'erwhelrns, 

And  mothers  look  on  children's  woes  without  a  tear, 

Where  Dead-sea  drops  like  thine  alone  are  found, 

Within  Creation's  bound — 

If  there  one  deeper,  ghastlier  pit  there  be 

Where,  fitting  comrades,  ceaseless  writhe  the  vilest  vile; 
Those  who,  in  love's  pure  name 
Have  wrought  another's  shame; 

Crime  more  doubly  damned  than  poisoning  eucharistic  wine — 

Those  who  have  slain  their  babes  unborn; 

Whose  flitting  ghosts,  in  terror,  other  murderers  shun — 

Those  who    for   paltry  gain    have    trebly  armed    the    cruel    foe  we 
seek. 

If  Powers  Infernal   fitting  prison   fiend 

For  monsters  such  as  these — 

Thy  name  above    its  triply-barred  door 

Forever  burns  in  baleful,  sulphurous  fire 

O  name  that  art  a  lie! 

The  Indians  being  driven  out  upon  the  Llano  Estacado  it  was  impos- 
sible to  follow  further,  as  our  trains  were  far  in  the  rear  of  our  command, 
and  the  trail  leading  up  the  precipitous  cliffs  told  the  fruitlessness  of 
longer  pursuit  in  the  then  condition  of  the  troops.  It  was,  therefore, 
deemed  best  to  call  a  halt.  After  a  night's  rest  the  command,  with  infi- 
nite labor,  followed  the  trail  and  climbed  out  of  the  valley  of  the  Tule  and 
for  miles  out  upon  the  Llano  Estacado.  It  became  evident,  however,  that 
no  pursuit  could  be  successful  without  supplies,  and  that  before  a  train 
could  be  brought  between  the  ravines  and  breaks  of  the  valley  to  the 
table-land  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Red  River,  the  Indians  could  get  be- 
yond pursuit.  Our  trains  being  far  in  the  rear,  as  stated,  the  command 
would  have  soon  been  out  of  supplies.  Enough  had  been  accomplished  to 
demonstrate  that  we  were  strong  enough  to  successfully  encounter  any 
body  of  Indians  then  in  the  field,  but  their  subjugation,  it  was  evident, 
would  require  time.  While  they  undoubtedly  rejoiced  in  their  escape 
and  were  gratified  at  their  ability  to  move  with  greater  rapidity  than 
the  troops,  at  the  same  time  they  had  received  their  first  lesson  in  our  te- 
nacity of  purpose  and  ability  to  remain  with  them  in  their  most  favored 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  171 

haunts  and  secure  retreats.  It  would  be  useless  to  return  leaving  the  In- 
dians the  possessors  of  this  remote  country  which  would  leave  them,  with 
their  families  and  their  herds,  in  a  safe  shelter  from  which  they  could  send 
raiding  parties  in  all  directions.  Therefore  we  determined  to  send  our 
trains  back  for  supplies,  and  to  ourselves  remain  in  the  country  an  indef- 
inite time,  and  until  they  were  finally  subjugated. 

The  period  of  heat  and  sunshine  was  finally  followed  by  such  an  over- 
shadowing of  the  heavens  as  created  an  impression  of  grandeur  and  awe. 
The  threatening  elements  were  not  long  in  showing  the  force  and  fury  of 
the  storm  that  had  been  gathering.  First  there  came  a  few  scattering 
drops  like  shots  as  one  approaches  a  battlefield,  giving  warning,  and  at 
the  same  time  impressing  one  with  their  force.  These  were  accompanied 
by  the  distant  roll  of  thunder  and  occasional  flashes  of  lightning,  followed 
by  a  drenching  flood  of  water,  and  then  came  the  fierce  onslaught  of  the 
terrible  storm  in  all  its  wild  and  relentless  fury.  It  was  at  first  refreshing, 
but  afterward  pitiless  in  volume  and  extent  and  in  its  incessant  raging. 
The  tethered  animals,  unable  to  break  away,  turned  their  heads  from  the 
storm  and  huddled  together  as  best  they  could  to  escape  its  fury.  Fortu- 
nate indeed  were  those  able  to  back  up  against  some  strong  tent  or  covered 
wagon  which  would  partly  protect  them  from  the  beating  hail  and  rain. 
It  is  remarkable  how  quickly  changes  occur  in  that  country,  from  extreme 
heat  to  what  is  there  called  the"  norther ;"  the  cold  harsh  winds  that  are  filled 
with  particles  of  ice  which  neither  man  nor  animal  can  face.  These 
storms  are  undoubtedly  the  result  of  a  cold  current  of  the  atmosphere 
coming  in  contact  with  a  warmer  one  near  the  earth.  To  attempt  to 
move  under  such  circumstances  would  have  been  extremely  injudicious, 
and  all  that  could  be  done  was  to  patiently  wait  until  the  storm  should  be 
over  and  the  earth  dry  again.  Fortunately,  by  carefully  husbanding  our 
supplies,  we  had  enough  to  last  us  until  the  supply-train  arrived. 

The  river  spoken  of  as  drifting  white  sand  had  now  become  a  roaring 
torrent  of  water,  rushing  down  through  the  arroyas  and  canons,  and  fill- 
ing' the  main  streams  until  they  overflowed  their  banks.  The  streams 
which  ten  or  twelve  days  before  were  wide  stretches  of  dry  sand  could 
not  now  be  crossed  without  great  difficulty  and  danger,  the  horses  being 
compelled  to  swim.  The  dry,  heated  atmosphere  had  given  place  to  one 
filled  with  water  and  charged  with  electricity. 


172  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XII. 

KlOWAS   AND   COMANCHES. 

THE  KIOWAS  AND  COMANCHES  ON  THE  WAR  PATH  —  ATTACK  ON  THE  SUPPLY  TRAIN  —  SCOUT  SCHMAL- 
SLE  —  TRAIN   RELIEVED  —  GALLANT  DEFENSE  OP  SERGEANT  WOODHALL   AND  PARTY  — 
CAPTAIN  BALDWIN'S  FIGHT  ON  THE  MCCLELLAN  CREEK  —  RESCUE  OP  JULIA  AND 
ADELAIDE  GERMAINE  —  A  MIDWINTER  CAMPAIGN  —  RESCUE  OP  THE  Two 
REMAINING  GERMAINE  SISTERS  AND  SUBMISSION  OP  THE  LAST  OP 
THE  HOSTILES  —  ORIGIN  OF  THE  CARLISLE  INDIAN  SCHOOL 
—  RESULTS  OP  THE  SUBJUGATION  OF  THE  SOUTHERN 
TRIBES  —  OPINION  OP  GENERAL  SHERI- 
DAN   ON    THE    CAMPAIGN. 

UR  trains  were  sent  back,  as  stated,  to  Fort  Supply  to  replenish 
our  stores.  While  this  was  being  done  a  large  body  of  Kiowas 
and  Comanches  left  their  reservation  and  commenced  hostilities, 
crossing  our  trail  near  where  we  had  crossed  the  Washita  in 
going  south.  Here  they  attacked  our  supply  train,  then  return- 
ing under  the  command  of  Captain  Wyllys  Lyman  from  Camp 
Supply,  who  with  his  escort  was  surrounded  and  held  for  several 
days,  though  he  made  a  very  spirited  and  determined  defense.  One 
officer,  Lieutenant  Lewis,  was  permanently  disabled,  and  several  of 
his  men  were  killed  or  wounded,  yet  he  made  a  very  good  defense 
against  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred  warriors.  Dur- 
ing the  night  a  daring  young  scout  named  Schmalsle  dashed  out  on 
horseback  through  the  line  of  beleaguers,  who  quickly  followed  him,  but 
being  well  mounted  and  a  very  light  rider  he  was  too  speedy  for  his  pur- 
suers. They  chased  him  into  a  large  herd  of  buffaloes,  which  enabled  him 
to  escape  in  the  tumult  and  under  the  cover  of  the  darkness.  He  came 
near  being  thrown,  however,  by  his  horse  stepping  into  a  hole ;  an  acci- 
dent by  which  he  lost  his  rifle.  He  rode  on  as  rapidly  as  his  horse  could 
carry  him  during  the  night  until  at  last  the  animal  was  utterly  exhausted 
and  he  was  obliged  to  leave  him  in  a  small  bit  of  timber.  After  this  he 
traveled  by  night,  on  foot,  concealing  himself  during  the  day  in  the  brush 
or  timber,  and  finally  reached  Camp  Supply,  Indian  Territory,  giving  infor- 
mation of  the  situation  of  the  beleaguered  train  to  the  commanding  officer, 
Colonel  Lewis,  who  at  once  sent  out  a  detachment  to  its  relief.  On  the 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


173 


approach  of  this  relief  the  Indians  withdrew,  and  allowed  Captain  Lyman 
to  proceeed  on  his  route. 

Later,  a  detachment  of  six  men,  in  carrying  a  dispatch  from  the  com- 
mand near  the  Red  River  to  Camp  Supply  were  surrounded  by  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  warriors.  Taking  refuge  in  a  buffalo  wallow,  a  slight 
depression  on  the  open  plain,  they  there  held  their  ground  until  the  ap- 
proach of  a  command  under  Major  Price,  when  the  Indians  withdrew.  The 
soldierly  qualities  here  displayed  were  such  that  I  thought  the  incident 
worthy  of  a  special  report,  which  I  made  as  follows : 

HEADQUARTERS  INDIAN  TERRITORY  EXPEDITION,          ) 
CAMP  ON  WASHITA    RIVER,  TEXAS,  SEPTEMBER  24,  1874  j 

ADJUTANT-GENERAL,  U.  S.    ARMY  :     (Thro'  Offices  of    Asst.  Acljt. -General    at    Hdqrs. 
Dept.  and  Division  of  the  Missouri  and  of  the  Army.) 

GENERAL  : — I  deem  it  but  a  duty  to  brave  men  and  faithful  soldiers  to  bring  to  the 
notice  of  the  highest  military  authority  an  instance  of  indomitable  courage,  skill  and  true 
heroism  on  the  part  of  a  detachment  from  his  command, 
with  the  request  that  the  actors  be  rewarded,  and  their  faith- 
fulness and  bravery  recognized  by  pensions,  medals-  of- 
honor,  or  in  such  way  as  may  be  deemed  most  fitting. 

On  the  night  of  the  10th  instant,  a  party  consisting  of 
Sergeant  Z.   T.  Woodhall,   Co.  "  I,"  Privates  Peter  Rath, 
Co.     "A,"     John     Harrington,    Co.    "H,"    and 
George  W.  Smith  Co.    "  M,"  6th  Cavalry,   and 
Scouts  Amos  Chapman  and  William  Dixon,  were 
sent  as  bearers  of  Despatches  from  the  Camp  of 
this    command  on  McClellan  Creek,  Texas,  to 
Camp  Supply,  I.  T. 

At  6  A.M.  of  the  12th,  when  approaching  the 
Washita  River,  they  were  met  and  surrounded 
by  a  band  of  about  125  Kiowas  and  Comanches, 
who  had  recently  left  their  agency,  and  at  the 
first  attack  four  of  the  six  were  struck.  Pvt. 
Smith,  mortally,  and  three  others  severely 
wounded.  Although  enclosed  on  all  sides  and 
by  overwhelming  numbers,  one  of  them  suc- 
ceeded, while  they  were  under  a  severe  fire  at 
short  range,  and  while  the  others  witli  their  rifles 
were  keeping  the  Indians  at  bay.  in  digging  with  his  knife  and  hands  a  slight  cover.  After 
tins  had  been  secured  they  placed  themselves  within  it,  the  wounded  walking  with  brave 
and  painful  efforts,  and  Private  Smith—  though  he  had  received  a  mortal  wound  —  sitting 
upright  in  the  trench,  to  conceal  the  crippled  condition  of  their  party  from  the  Indians. 

From  early  morning  till  dark,  outnumbered '25  to  1,  under  an  almost   constant  fire  and 
at  such  short  range  that  they  sometimes  used  their  pistols,  retaining  the  last  charge  to  pre- 
vent capture  and  torture,  this  little   party  of  five   defended   their  lives  and  the  person  of 
M— 11 


WM.  F.  SCHMALSI.E,  SCOUT. 


174  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

their  dying  comrade,  without  food,  and  their  only  drink  the  rain  water  that  collected  in 
the  hollow  they  had  made,  mingled  with  their  own  blood.  There  is  no  doubt  that  they 
killed  more  than  double  their  number,  besides  those  they  wounded. 

The  Indians  abandoned  the  attack  at  dark  on  the  12th. 

The  exposure  and  distance  from  the  command,  which  were  necessary  incidents  of  their 
duty,  were  such  that  for  thirty-six  hours  from  the  first  attack  their  condition  could  not  be 
known,  and  not  till  midnight  of  the  13th  could  they  receive  medical  attendance  or  food, 
and  they  were  exposed  during  all  this  time  to  an  incessant  cold  storm. 

Sergeant  Woodhall,  Private  Harrington  and  Scout  Chapman  were  seriously  wounded  : 
Private  Smith  died  of  his  wound  on  the  morning  of  the  13th;  Pvt.  Rath  and  Scout  Dixon 
were  struck  but  not  disabled. 

The  simple  recital  of  their  deeds  and  the  mention  of  the  odds  against  which  they 
fought ;  how  the  wounded  defended  the  dying,  and  the  dying  aided  the  wounded  by  ex- 
posure to  fresh  wounds  after  the  power  of  action  was  gone  ;  these  alone  present  a  scene 
of  cool  courage,  heroism  and  self-sacrifice  which  duty,  as  well  as  inclination,  prompts  us 
to  recognize,  but  which  we  cannot  fitly  honor.  Very  respct'ly,  Your  obedient  serv't, 

(Signed)  :  NELSOX  A.  MILES, 

Colonel  and  Brevet  Major-General,  U.  S.  Army,  Commanding. 

About  this  time  excellent  work  was  done  by  General  Mackenzie's  com- 
mand from  the  south.  They  had  moved  up,  crossing  the  head  of  Tule  canon 
and  surprised  a  camp  of  Indians  at  Canon  Blanco,  a  tributary  of  the  Red 
River,  capturing  a  herd  of  Indian  ponies,  numbering  some  twelve  hundred, 
and  destroying  the  camp.  This  enterprising  officer's  operations  were  much 
crippled  by  the  difficulty  of  getting  his  transportation  from  the  south,  and 
his  command  was  very  much  broken  down  by  the  terrible  rains  that  fol- 
lowed the  dry  season,  and  made  that  portion  of  the  country  in  which  lie 
was  operating  almost  impassable  for  wagons.  Of  course  we  also  had  these 
floods  to  contend  with,  but  by  establishing  small  supply  camps  on  the 
Canadian,  the  Washita,  and  the  tributaries  of  the  Red  River,  I  was  enabled 
to  keep  my  command  in  very  fair  order  and  use  it  against  the  Indians 
whenever  they  could  be  found  in  that  remote  country. 

Our  operations  lasted  during  the  autumn,  and  even  into  the  winter.  They 
resulted  in  nine  different  engagements  and  affairs  with  the  Indians  by  dif- 
ferent detachments  and  under  different  officers ;  chiefly  under  Major 
Compton,  Captain  Chaff ee,  Lieutenant  Baldwin  and  Major  Lyman.  When- 
ever the  Indians  could  be  found  they  were  followed  as  long  as  their  trails 
could  be  traced.  Lieutenant  Baldwin  with  his  detachment,  and  Troop  D  of 
Sixth  Cavalry,  and  Company  D  of  Fifth  Infantry,  attacked  a  camp  of  the  chief, 
Gray  Beard,  Cheyenne  Indians  on  the  north  branch  of  McClellan  Creek  on 
November  8,  and  in  a  spirited  engagement  drove  the  Indians  out  of  their 
camp  to  the  Staked  Plains  again. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


175 


In  this  engagement  he  rescued  two  white  girls  that  were  held  in  cap- 
tivity by  these  Indians,  named  Julia  and  Adelaide  Germaine,  whose  parents 
had  been  killed  in  western  Kansas,  as  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter. 
Here  we  first  learned  that  besides  these  two,  the  two  elder  sisters  were  still 
in  the  hands  of  the  Indians.  It  was  surprising  to  see  the  sympathy  and  emo- 
tion of  the  soldiers  and  trainmen  as  they  listened  to  the  story  from  the 
lips  of  these  two  little  half-starved  girls.  One  teamster,  as  the  tears  of 
sympathy  rolled  down  his  cheeks,  remarked:  "I  have  driven  my  mules 
over  these  plains  for  three  months,  but  I  will  stay  forever  or  until  we  get 


THE  VICTORY  OP  THE  PRIVATES. 

them  other  girls."  These  little  children 
were  sent  back  in  charge  of  Dr.  Powell  to  Fort 
Leavenworth,  Kansas,  where  they  were  well  cared  for. 
On  his  return  Dr.  Powell  brought  with  him  a  photograph  which  he  had  had 
taken  of  them  in  their  improved  condition,  and  which  was  used  in  an  im- 
portant event  that  occurred  two  months  later. 

The  campaign  continued  during  the  autumn,  the  purpose  being  to  make 
that  remote  country,  which  the  Indians  had  formerly  used  as  their  retreat- 
ing ground,  untenable  for  them  until  they  should  be  brought  under  subjec- 
tion. As  they  had  been  defeated  in  so  many  engagements,  the  weakest  of 
the  Indians  began  to  retreat  back  to  the  agency  in  small  numbers,  and  the 
approach  of  cold  weather  was  having  its  effect  on  all  the  tribes  that  re- 
mained out  in  hostility.  Their  ponies  had  been  so  much  worn  down  by  their 


176 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


being  kept  constantly  on  the  move  that  when  winter  struck  them  in  their 
weakened  condition  they  died  by  hundreds  on  the  cold,  bleak  plains. 

Finally,  in  January,  believing  that  those  still  remaining  out  were  in  a 
disposition  to  surrender,  I  sent  a  message  to  them  demanding  their  surren- 
der; and  the  friendly  Indian  who  carried  this  despatch  also  took  with  him 
the  photograph  of  the  two  little  Germaine  girls,  with  the  injunction  to 
place  it.  unknown  to  the  Indians,  in  the  hand  of  one  of  the  captives,  if  he 
could  find  them.  The  message  was  carried  by  a  small  detachment  of 
friendly  Indians.  They  found  the  hostile  camp  on  the  Staked  Plains,  on  a 
tributary  of  the  Pecos  River,  on  the  border  of  New  Mexico.  The  Indian 
carrying  the  photograph  of  the  little  girls  when  unobserved  quietly  placed 
it  in  the  hands  of  the  eldest;  giving  her  the  first  knowledge  she  had  that 
her  sisters  were  living  and  that  they  had  been  recaptured.  On  the  back  of 
the  photograph  was  a  message  reading  as  follows : 

HEADQUAKTERS  TXDIAN  TERRITORY  EXPEDITION. 

!>'  THE  FIELD,  January  20th,  1875. 

To  the   Misses   Germaine:  Your  little   sisters   are  well,  and  in  the   hands  of  friends.     Do 
not  be  discouraged.     Every  effort  is  being1  made  for  your  welfare. 

(Signed)  NELSON  A.   MILES,  Colonel  and  Brevet   Major-General,  U.   S.  Army, 

Commanding  Expedition. 

The  girl  afterward  told  me  that  she  was  almost  wild  with  joy  on  re- 
ceiving the  message.     LTp  to  that  time  she  had  not  had  a  single  ray  of 
hope  and  did  not  know  that  any  one  knew  where  they 
were  or  that  they  were  alive,  or  that  they  would  ever  see 
the  faces  of  white  people  again.     She  said  that  from  that 
time  until  they  were  finally  restored  the  hope  of  ultimate 
relief  gave  them   courage  to  endure  their    hardships. 
With  the  demand  for  the  surrender  of  the   Indians 
when  it  was  delivered,    was  a   message  to  the 
chief  saying  that  no  peace  could  be  made  except 
on  condition  that  they  brought  in  alive  the 
prisoners  they  had   in  their   hands.      The 
chief  at  once  sent  for  these  two  girls  and 
placed  them  in  a  tent  next  to  his  own,  and 
had  them  well  cared  for,  and  the  whole  body 
immediately  commenced  to  move  toward  the 
east,  traveling  through  the  storms  of  winter  and 
over  the  snow  and  ice  a  distance  of  more  than 
two  hundred  miles  to  their  agency,  where  they  finally 
surrendered.     The  winter  was  very  cold  and  although  causing  some  suffer- 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  179 

ing  to  the  troops,  it  was  one  of  the  best  allies  we  could  possibly  have 
had  in  subjugating  the  Indians.  As  the  troops  were  out  constantly 
from  midsummer  until  midwinter,  the  cold  came  on  them  very  grad- 
ually and  they  did  not  feel  it  so  much  as  if  they  had  been  housed  and 
then  gone  out  suddenly  into  the  cold.  By  supplying  them  with  an 
abundance  of  good  warm  clothing,  and  keeping  both  men  and  animals 
supplied  with  plenty  of  food,  we  were  enabled  to  move  about  the  country 
and  endure  the  severity  of  the  winter  without  serious  loss  to  either  men  or 
animals.  This  was  before  a  permanent  military  post  had  been  established 
in  that  country.  When  this  was  done  it  was  named  "Elliot"  for  the  gal- 
lant officer  who  lost  his  life  in  the  engagement  on  the  Washita. 

The  result  of  the  campaign  and  the  expedition  as  above  described  was 
the  complete  subjugation  of  four  powerful  tribes  of  hostile  Indians.  The 
tribes  that  had  gone  out  in  the  summer  splendidly  equipped  with  all  the 
grand  paraphernalia  for  an  Indian  campaign,  with  beautiful  lodges  and 
thousands  of  ponies,  came  back  in  the  winter,  many  of  them  on  foot,  in 
abject  poverty,  leaving  most  of  their  horses  dead  upon  the  plains  as  well 
as  many  of  their  people.  In  fact  some  bands  that  had  never  before  sur- 
rendered, but  had  always  remained  out  in  a  hostile  attitude,  especially 
that  known  as  the  Quahada  Comanches  or  "Antelope  Eaters,"  who  lived 
out  on  the  high  Staked  Plains  of  western  Texas,  and  from  time  im- 
memorial had  raided  western  Texas  and  old  Mexico,  this  time  were 
obliged  to  yield.  As  a  result  of  this  campaign  they  have  remained  peace- 
able from  that  time  to  the  present,  with  the  exception  of  part  of  the 
Cheyenne  tribe  that  broke  out  and  went  north  under  Little  Wolf  in  1877, 
where  they  were  captured  by  part  of  my  command  on  the  Yellowstone  in 
Montana. 

After  the  surrender  of  the  Indians  the  warriors  were  formed  in  line  in 
the  presence  of  the  troops,  and  the  two  elder  Germaine  girls  went  along 
down  the  line  pointing  out  to  the  officers  the  different  men  who  had  been 
engaged  in  the  murder  of  their  family,  and  in  other  atrocities ;  and  to  the 
number  of  seventy-five  these  men  were  taken  out  of  the  camp  and  placed 
under  guard  and  taken  under  the  charge  of  Captain  Pratt  to  St.  Augustine, 
Florida.  As  these  Indians  passed  through  Fort  Leavenworth,  Minimic, 
one  of  the  principal  chiefs,  asked  me  to  take  his  son,  young  Minimic. —  who 
was  I  think  one  of  the  handsomest  Indians  I  have  ever  seen,  a  stalwart 
young  man  of  about  twenty-two  years  —  and  teach  him  the  ways  of  the 
white  men.  I  appreciated  the  sentiment,  but  at  the  same  time  I  realized 
the  futility  of  trying  to  accomplish  any  good  results  with  but  one  Indian, 


180 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


and  without  any  system  for  general  improvement.  Thinking  the  matter 
over  I  was  prompted  to  urge  upon  the  government  as  strongly  as  possible 
that  the  Indian  youth  be  given  an  opportunity  to  improve  their  condition ; 
and  in  my  report  of  that  expedition  and  its  results  I  urged  an  entire 

change  in  the  system  of  government  and 
management  of  these  Indians.  Wherever 
the  suggestion  has  been  tried  it  has  been 
eminently  successful.  Out  of  Captain 
Pratt's  judicious  management  of  this  body 
of  wild  savage  murderers,  has  grown  the 
great  industrial  Indian  school  at  Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania.  The  tribes  from  which  the 
children  have  been  taken  to  be  educated 
have  been  benefited  to  an  incalculable  ex- 
tent. The  subjugation  of  the  Indians  per- 
mitted the  settlements  of  northern  Texas, 
eastern  New  Mexico,  Colorado  and  south- 
ern Kansas  to  enjoy  an  unprecedented  and 
unbroken  era  of  prosperity  and  security ; 
and  the  very  territory  which  was  then  the 
battle-ground  between  the  troops  and  the 
Indians  has  been  subdued  by  settlers,  every 
valley  is  occupied  by  ranchmen  and  far- 
mers, numerous  railroads  have  crossed  the  country,  and  the  millions  of 
buffaloes  that  tramped  over  these  prairies  are  now  replaced  by  domestic 
stock  in  almost  countless  numbers. 

The  vast  area  of  country  which  was  the  arena  of  that  campaign,  over 
which  Indians  and  buffaloes  and  wild  horses  then  roamed,  was  a  very  few 
years  afterward  transformed  into  a  series  of  peaceful  communities.  Set- 
tlements gradually  extended  themselves  over  the  valleys  and  fertile  plains. 
First  came  the  small  hamlet  of  the  prospector  and  homesteader;  then  the 
comfortable  homes  and  cultivated  fields  of  waving  grain,  tasselled  corn, 
and  flowers  and  trees  and  vineyards:  then  church-spires  and  courthouses; 
and  finally  those  temples  of  American  intelligence  and  free  citizenship— 
the  public  schools  and  colleges.  The  buttes  and  landmarks  that  had 
looked  down  on  the  scenes  of  recent  wild  and  savage  rage,  cruel 
atrocities  and  fierce  encounters,  now  look  only  on  peaceful  and  happy 
industrial  communities.  Where  was  then  a  wild  desert,  as  indicated  on 
the  maps  of  the  time,  are  now  found  interminable  irrigating  ditches  and 


CAPTATX  R.  H.  PRATT. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  181 

canals  and  flowing  fountains,  and  busy  men  bringing  rich  stores  from  the 
coal  beds  which  underlie  a  vast  area  of  that  country.  In  fact  the  very 
gypsum  beds  that  were  such  annoying  and  distressing  afflictions  to  us  only 
twenty  years  ago  have  been  utilized  in  various  ways  by  the  industry  of 
the  whites.  A  vast  amount  of  this  gypsum  was  shipped  very  recently  to 
the  Queen  City  of  the  West  to  be  used  in  the  construction  of  the  great 
"  White  City  "  of  the  Columbian  Exposition. 

The  territory  in  which  this  campaign  was  conducted  against  the  Chey- 
ennes,  Arapahoes,  Kiowas  and  Comanches,  included  a  large  portion  of  the 
Indian  Territory,  the  Pan  Handle  of  Texas,  southern  Kansas  and  portions  of 
Colorado  and  New  Mexico,  and  embraced  an  area  larger  than  the  States  of 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  Delawai-e  and  all  New  England  combined.  It  had 
long  been  marked  on  the  maps  as  a  part  of  the  Great  American  Desert, 
but  a  large  portion  of  it  has  proved  to  be  a  splendid  agricultural  country, 
while  the  remainder  makes  a  fine  grazing  ground  and  supports  vast  herds 
of  sheep,  cattle  and  horses.  In  the  eastern  and  northern  sections  partic- 
ularly, corn  and  grain  are  raised  in  great  abundance,  and  in  the  southern 
part  the  raising  of  cotton  is  very  successful.  Altogether  the  country  is 
capable  of  supporting  several  millions  of  civilized  people. 

At  the  close  of  the  campaign  the  rescued  Germaine  girls  were  sent  to 
Fort  Leavenworth,  and  I  was  appointed  their  guardian.  I  secured  a  provi- 
sion in  an  appropriation  by  Congress  diverting  ten  thousand  dollars  from 
the  annuities  of  the  offending  Indians,  to  be  given  to  them.  This  sum  was 
set  apart  for  the  benefit  of  these  girls,  the  interest  to  go  for  their  support 
during  their  minority,  and  the  principal  to  be  divided  and  given  to  them 
on  reaching  their  majority.  They  have  since  grown  up,  and  have  each 
received  $2500.  They  are  now  married,  and  are  occupying  happy,  though 
widely-separted  homes  in  Kansas.  Colorado  and  California. 

I  conclude  this  chapter  with  a  paragraph  selected  from  the  ensuing 
annual  report  of  Lieutenant-General  P.  H.  Sheridan,  commanding  Military 
Division  of  the  Missouri : 

"  In  the  department  of  the  Missouri,  the  campaign  against  the  Cheyennes.  Kiowas  and 
Comanches  was  finished  early  in  the  spring,  and  the  ringleaders  and  worst  criminals 
separated  from  the  tribes  and  sent  to  Fort  Marion.  Florida.  This  campaign  was  not  only 
very  comprehensive,  but  was  the  most  successful  of  any  Indian  campaign  in  the  country 
since  its  settlement  by  the  whites ;  and  much  credit  is  due  to  the  officers  and  men  engaged 
in  it." 


182 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER   XIII. 
INDIAN  DIFFICULTIES  IN  NEW  MEXICO. 

INDIAN   OUTBREAK  AT  THE  CIMARRON  AGENCY  —  ON   THE   AVAR  PATH  —  TROOPS  ORDERED  AGAINST 
THEM  —  PEACEFUL    OVERTURES    RESULT   IN   A   COUNCIL  —  CAUSES    OP   THE    OUTBREAK  — 
CONDITION  OP  THE  INDIANS  —  IN  COUNCIL  —  THE  THREATENED  WAR  AVOIDED  —  SUC- 
CESSFUL EFFORTS  TO  BETTER  CONDITION  OF  THE  INDIANS  —  CHARACTER  OP 
THE   COUNTRY  —  INTERESTING  RUINS  —  SANTA  FE  —  PIKE'S  PEAK  — 
HELEN  HUNT  JACKSON    AND   HER  LAST  RESTING  PLACE. 

N  December,  1875,  an  outbreak  by  the  Muache  Utes  and  Jicarilla 
Apaches  occurred  at  the  Indian  agency  at  Cimarron,  New  Mexico. 
The  Indians  commenced  hostilities  by  firing  into  the  agency 
and  driving  the  white  people  away.  The  agent  fled  for  his 
life.  The  Indians  then  left  their  reservations  and  went  into 
the  mountains  to  the  west.  This  demonstration  occasioned 
great  consternation  in  the  vicinity  and  throughout  all  that 
territory,  especially  among  the  scattered  settlements.  Troops 
were  ordered  to  move  into  the  territory  from  the  south  and 
north  and  concentrate  at  Cimarron,  and  I  was  ordered  to  proceed  im- 
mediately by  rail  and  stage  from  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  to  that  point, 
to  take  command  of  the  troops  and  proceed  to  quell  the  rebellion.  I  went 
by  rail  as  far  as  the  terminus  of  the  road  at  Pueblo,  Colorado,  thence  by 
stage  over  the  Raton  Mountains  to  Cimarron,  New  Mexico. 

Before  commencing  an  active  campaign,  especially  at  that  season  of 
the  year,  I  desired  to  obtain  the  fullest  information  concerning  the 
causes  of  the  disturbance.  To  that  end  I  sent  out  by  a  runner,  a  half-breed 
Mexican  Indian,  a  message  to  the  principal  chief  of  the  hostiles  informing 
him  that  I  was  there  with  troops  to  maintain  order  and  suppress  actual 
violence,  and,  if  necessary,  to  make  a  campaign  against  the  tribes  that  had 
begun  the  hostilities,  but  that  before  taking  any  action  I  desired  to  hear 
his  side  of  the  case.  He  replied  that  if  I  would  give  him  protection  under 
a  flag  of  truce  to  come  in  and  state  his  case  and  then  return  again  to  the 
mountains,  he  would  come  in  and  meet  me.  I  sent  back  word  to  him  to 
assure  him  of  protection  both  coming  and  going,  and  a  guarantee  of  his 
safe  return. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


183 


In  the  course  of  a  few  days  he  arrived.  In  the  council  that  followed 
I  informed  him  of  the  condition  of  affairs ;  of  the  reports  which  had  been 
received  by  the  government,  and  of  the  instructions  which  the  government 
had  given  to  the  military  authorities.  He  in  turn  informed  me  that  he  did 
not  desire  war,  neither  did  his  people,  but  that  they  were  compelled  to  re- 
sort to  hostilities  or  die  by  slow  starvation  ;  that  under  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  they  were  granted  certain  provisions  and  a  certain  amount  of  cloth- 
ing and  annuities,  which  agreement  had  not  been  complied  with.  He  said 
that  the  beef  furnished  by  the  contractor  was  such  that  it  was  impossible 
for  his  people  to  use  it  for  food ;  that  old,  worn-out  oxen,  that  had  been 
used  in  hauling  freight  over  the  plains  and  mountains  until  they  were 


INDIANS  ON  TUB  LOOKOUT 

utterly  useless  for  such  purposes,  were  issued  to  his  people  for  beef,  when 
in  fact,  they  were  simply  skin,  bones,  hides,  hoofs  and  horns  and  could  not 
be  utilized  for  food,  the  life-giving  properties  having  been  all  exhausted. 
In  place  of  flour,  which  was  granted  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  his  people 
had  been  furnished  with  what  is  known  as  "shorts,"  which  is  simply  the 
husk  obtained  from  the  wheat  when  it  passes  through  the  flouring  mill, 
and  which  is  of  very  little  or  no  value  as  food ;  in  fact  it  was  impossible  to 
make  bread  of  it. 

Later  on,  when  I  visited  their  camp,  I  was  given  specimens  of  this  so- 
called  "beef"  and  "flour"  and  the  facts  confirmed  the  statements  of  the  chief. 

I  assured  him  that  as  far  as  I  was  concerned  it  was  not  my  desire  to 
make  war  upon  him  or  his  people,  but  that  he  must  bring  his  tribe  back  to 


184  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

the  place  where  they  had  formerly  camped,  and  put  them  under  the  au- 
thorities ;  and  in  turn,  as  I  assured  him,  I  would  see  that  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  were  rigidly  complied  with ;  I  would  place  an  officer  in  charge  of 
the  agency,  and  would  see  that  the  contractors  furnished  beef  and  flour  in 
accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  treaty  and  their  contracts.  He  assured 
me  that  under  those  circumstances  he  would  bring  his  people  in  within 
five  days,  and  passed  out,  up  the  valley  and  the  mountain-side,  under  the 
flag  of  truce. 

I  waited  those  five  days  patiently,  yet  confidently,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  stipulated  time,  I  saw  on  the  eastern  mountain-side  his  people  slowly 
winding  down  the  trail,  coming  in  the  direction  of  the  agency.  This,  to 
me,  was  most  gratifying,  and  in  due  time  they  all  came  in  and  occupied 
their  former  camps. 

Visiting  these  camps  I  found  the  Indians  very  poor,  and  among  what 
little  stores  they  had,  they  showed  the  supplies  that  had  been  given  to 
them  as  food,  and  I  found  the  statements  made  to  me  by  the  chief  to  be 
only  too  fully  corroborated.  I  placed  an  officer  in  charge,  and  required 
the  contractors  to  furnish  good  beef  under  their  contracts,  for  which  they 
were  receiving  ample  compensation  from  the  government.  I  also  directed 
that  all  the  terms  of  the  treaty  should  be  carried  out,  as  well  as  all  other 
obligations  of  the  government  to  these  people.  This  peaceful  ending  of 
what  threatened  to  be  a  serious  Indian  war  was  most  gratifying  to  me,  and 
I  returned  to  Fort  Leavenworth  after  an  absence  of  twenty-five  days.  It 
is  much  better,  if  possible,  to  avoid  an  Indian  war,  and  much  easier  than 
to  end  one  after  hostilities  have  once  been  fully  entered  upon. 

During  the  council  I  had  with  the  principal  chief  he  stated  to  me  as  a 
reason  why  his  people  did  not  support  themselves,  especially  as  they  had 
done  so  formerly  when  game  was  abundant  and  they  could  freely  roam 
over  the  country,  that  since  they  had  been  required  to  remain  in  one  place 
they  found  it  impossible.  "You  see,"  he  said,  "that  even  these  Mexicans 
have  to  work  hard  to  support  themselves,  although  they  have  for  genera- 
tions been  accustomed  to  living  in  that  way.  They  know  how  to  build 
houses,  canals  and  ditches  and  irrigate  their  lands.  They  know  what  time- 
to  plough,  what  seeds  to  plant  in  the  ground,  how  to  cultivate  and  harvest 
their  crops,  and  what  use  to  make  of  them.  All  this  we,  being  Indians,  do 
not  know,  and  it  takes  time  to  learn."  He  said  to  me  further,  "  I  wish  you 
would  take  my  son  and  educate  him  in  the  ways  of  the  white  men." 

This  was  the  second  request  I  had  received  within  a  few  months  from  a 
chief  to  take  his  son  and  educate  him  in  the  ways  of  the  white  men.  and  it 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


185 


1.  Medicine  Bag  Mado  of  Skin  of  a  Bear's  Foot. 

2.  Apache  Cap. Ornamented  with  Turkey  Feathers  and 

Buttons. 
:;.  Apache  Cap.  Made  of  Red  Flannel  and  Ornamented 

with  Buttons  and  Feathers. 
4.  Sioux  War  Shirt. 


5.  A  Pair  of  Sioux  Moccasins. 

6.  Tobacco  Pouch,  Beautifully  Beaded. 

7.  Totem,  Made  of  Beaver  Skin. 

8.  Tohacco  Ponch.  Elaborately  Beaded, 
fl.  Totem,  Made  of  Turtle  Shell. 


186  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

impressed  upon  my  mind  the  advisability,  justice  and  humanity  of  the 
establishment  by  the  government  of  industrial  schools  to  give  an  opportu- 
nity to  these  people  to  send  their  children  where  they  could  be  taught 
habits  of  industry,  and  could  be  given  such  other  information  as  would 
enable  them  to  support  themselves  when  they  become  of  suitable  age ;  and 
accordingly,  in  making  my  report  of  this  affair,  I  said : 

"  I  would  earnestly  recommend  that,  as  far  as  possible,  all  children  be  gathered  into 
schools,  and  as  the  work  of  reformation  will  consume  years  of  time,  several  of  the  aban- 
doned military  posts  on  the  frontier  should  be  used  as  Normal  Schools,  and  the  thousands 
of  bright  active  children  (especially  boys)  be  placed  there  under  suitable  teachers, 
and  educated  and  taught  habits  of  industry  and  skilled  labor.  They  would  then 
be  wholly  under  proper  influences,  and  would  soon  abandon  many  of  their  savage 
customs  and  the  vices  learned  along  the  remote  frontier  settlements,  and  the  benefi- 
cial influences  of  these  people  upon  the  tribes,  when  they  were  returned,  would  be 
incalculable." 

The  transformation  that  has  taken  place  in  that  country  of  northern 
New  Mexico  and  southern  Colorado  has  been  wonderful.  The  coal  fields 
of  Trinidad,  along  the  Purgatoire  and  other  affluents  of  the  Arkan- 
sas, rival  those  of  Pennsylvania.  The  pleasant  valleys  and  the 
health-giving  properties  of  the  climate  have  become  known  the  world 
over.  Large  cities  have  grown  up.  such  as  Pueblo,  Trinidad  and 
Denver. 

The  last  named  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities  in  the  world,  and  is 
equally  conspicuous  for  its  wealth  and  enterprise.  When  I  first  visited  the 
place  in  1869,  before  the  railroads  had  reached  there,  it  was  but  a  village  of 
scattered  houses,  with  only  a  few  hundred  people.  Now  its  population 
exceeds  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand.  Its  streets  are  wide  and  regularly 
laid  out,  and  its  houses  are  of  modern  and  beautiful  construction.  Its 
streets,  public  buildings,  water  supply,  hotel  accommodations,  local 
transit,  etc.,  are  probably  unsurpassed  by  those  of  any  city  of  its  size  in 
the  world. 

Not  many  years  ago  that  country  was  the  favorite  ground  of  the  hun- 
ters and  trappers  who  belonged  to  the  American  Fur  Company.  They 
used  to  hunt  through  the  valleys  and  canons  and  over  the  mountains, 
where  they  found  vast  quantities  of  game.  The  streams  are  abundantly 
supplied  with  fish  for  their  wants,  and  in  winter  they  gathered  into  some 
sheltered  hamlet  like  Trinidad  or  Pueblo,  or  a  spot  like  that  where  Denver 
now  stands,  to  remain  during  the  cold  weather.  In  this  rendezvous 
they  amused  themselves  by  comparing  notes  of  the  results  of  their 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


187 


observations,  and  by  telling  stories  of  their  explorations  and  adventures.  Such 
men  as  Kit  Carson,  Walker,  Baker,  Jim  Bridger,  and  others  of  like  stamp 
were  of  that  number. 

The  story  is  told  that  on  some  such  occasion,  one  night  after  supper,  a 
comrade  who  in  his  travels  and  explorations  had  gone  as  far  south  as  the 
Zuni  village,  New  Mexico,  and  had  dis- 
covered the  famous  petrified  forests  of 
Arizona,  inquired  of  Bridger  : 

li  Jim,  were  you  ever  down  to  Zuni?" 

"  No,  tharaint  any  beaver  down  thar." 

"But  Jim,  there  are  some  things  in 
this  world  besides  beaver.  I  was  down 
there  last  winter  and  saw  great  trees 
with  limbs  and  bark  and  all  turned  into 
stone." 

•'0,"  returned  Jim,  "  that's  peetrifac- 
tion.  Come  with  me  to  the  Yellow- 
stone next  summer,  and  I'll  show  you 
peetrified  trees  a-growing,  with  peetri- 
fled  birds  on  'em  a-siuging  peetrified 
songs." 

Now  it  so  happened  that  he  had  been 
to  the  Yellowstone,  and  had  seen  the 
"peetrified  trees"  standing,  but  not  the 

'•peetrified  birds  "or  the  "  peetrified  songs."  The  geysers  of  the  Yellow- 
stone at  intervals  eject  hot  water,  supersaturated  with  carbonate  of  lime 
and  geyserite,  to  a  height  of  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred 
feet.  This  water  is  carried  laterally  by  the  wind,  sometimes  two  or  three 
hundred  feet,  saturating  the  trees,  and  gradually  covering  the  nearest  side 
with  a  crystal  formation,  while  on  the  other  side  are  living  branches.  So 
Jim  Bridger's  story  was  in  part  true. 

Our  American  jewelers  for  some  years  have  been  cutting  up  the  petrified 
trees  from  the  famous  forests  of  Arizona  and  fashioning  them  into  exqui- 
site ornaments. 

In  the  northwestern  part  of  New  Mexico,  in  Navajo  County,  are  some 
extremely  interesting  stone  ruins.  They  are  oval-shaped  and  very  symmet- 
rical, from  three  to  seven  stories  in  height,  and  the  largest  must  have 
originally  contained  over  a  thousand  rooms.  It  is  very  apparent  that  they 
were  constructed  by  a  people  Avell  advanced  in  civilization.  It  is  extremely 


•THAT'S  PEETRIFACTIOX.' 


188  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

desirable  that  these  ruins  should  be  more  thoroughly  explored,  in  order 
that  we  may  obtain  more  satisfactory  information  regarding  the  people 
who  once  inhabited  them,  and  whose  entrance  into  and  disappearance 
from  this  country  are  both  equally  mysterious.  The  so-called  "Aztec 
ruins,"  near  the  Auimas  River,  in  Colorado,  are  not  so  well  preserved  and 
are  much  smaller  than  those  in  New  Mexico. 

Sante  Fe,  at  present  the  capital  of  the  Territory  is  an  interesting  city 
situated  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level,  amid  beautiful  scenery. 
The  houses  are  built  of  adobe,  and  are  mostly  one  story  in  height.  There 
are  many  interesting  historical  associations  connected  with  this  place  as 
it  is  one  of  the  oldest  settlements  of  America.  There  is  also  a  school  for 
Indian  girls  here.  There  are  many  old  buildings  and  among  others  the 
oldest  cathedral  on  the  continent.  The  population  is  chiefly  Mex- 
ican. Albuquerque  is  a  more  modern  American  town  and  a  railroad 
center. 

Fifty  miles  to  the  south  of  Denver,  is  Pike's  Peak.  This  lofty  mountain 
towers  up  to  a  height  of  nearly  fifteen  thousand  feet,  and  can  be  seen  a 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  away.  From  its  top  can  be  seen  a  large  part  of 
Colorado.  From  Colorado  Springs,  its  great  white  shoulder  rising  up  above 
the  blue  and  purple  of  the  hills,  it  seems  so  near  that  it  is  difficult  to 
believe  that  it  would  take  more  than  a  short  walk  to  reach  its  base. 
The  clearness  of  the  atmosphere  has  much  to  do  with  this  optical  il- 
lusion. 

There  are  three  ways  of  reaching  the  summit.  The  hardy  little  burro 
so  commonly  found  in  this  region  will  take  you  there,  but  he  must  have 
his  own  time,  which  will  probably  be  two  or  three  days.  There  is  also  a 
cog  railroad  which  will  take  one  to  the  top  very  comfortably.  Possibly, 
after  all,  the  most  delightful  way  is  by  carriage  over  a  mountain  road  of 
seventeen  miles,  affording  views  of  the  most  magnificent  scenery  all  the 
way,  and  making  the  ascent  into  the  regions  of  thin  air  sufficiently 
gradual. 

At  Colorado  Springs,  just  at  the  foot  of  Pike's  Peak,  for  many  years 
Helen  Hunt  Jackson,  who  has  written  so  much  in  favor  of  the  Indians, 
made  her  home  ;  and  her  enthusiastic  pen-pictures  have  made  the  scenery 
of  this  part  of  the  country  famous  all  over  the  world.  Although  she  after- 
ward removed  to  California,  where  she  died,  her  body  was.  according  to 
her  own  directions,  brought  back  and  buried  on  the  top  of  Cheyenne 
Mountain,  where  she  had  spent  so  many  delightful  days  during- 
her  life. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


191 


Three  miles  from  Colorado  Springs  lies  the  famous  Garden  of  the  Gods, 
and  its  gigantic  gateway,  consisting  of  two  enormous  stones  nearly  three- 
hundred  feet  high,  may  easily  be  seen  from  the  town.  Great  masses  of 
red  and  yellow  sandstone  lie  scattered  about  in  the  wildest  confusion, 
many  of  which  nature  has  carved  into  shapes  both  strange  and  grotesque. 


192  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
THE  Sioux  WAR. 

TRIBES    COMPOSING    THE    DAKOTA    NATIONS  —  CAUSES    LEADING    TO    THE    WAR    OP     1876-77 — 
SITTING  BULL — HE  COQUETTES  WITH  A  POST  TRADER  AND  TRIFLES  WITH  A  SAW   MILL  — 
MARAUDING  EXPEDITIONS  —  EXPEDITION  OP  GENERAL  CROOK  —  CROOK'S  DEFEAT 
—GENERAL  GIBBON'S  EXPEDITION  —  GENERAL  TERRY'S  EXPEDITION  —  JUNC- 
TION OF  TERRY  AND  GIBBON  —  DEFEAT    AND   TRAGIC   DEATH  OF 
CUSTER,  AND  ANNIHILATION  OF  HIS  IMMEDIATE  COMMAND. 

f 

IOUX  Indians  have  already  been  referred  to  in  connection  with 
the  Minnesota  war  of  1862,  and  the  causes  leading  thereto. 
These  Indians  were  formerly  known  as  the  Dakota  Nation,  and 
the  name  ''  Sioux "  is  alleged  to  have  been  given  them  in  de- 
rision, and  to  mean  "cut-throat"  or  "the  enemy."  It  was  per- 
haps the  strongest  body  of  Indians  that  had  existed  on  the 
continent.  Like  the  Six  Nations  they  were  to  some  extent  a 
confederation.  Parkman  speaks  of  them  in  recounting  the  cam- 
paigns of  two  hundred  years  ago  along  the  western  portion  of 
the  Great  Lakes,  conducted  by  Lord  Halifax,  and  says  that  as  civilization 
pushed  them  west  they  in  turn  subjugated  and  adopted  into  their  family 
other  smaller  bands  of  Indians,  or  confederated  with  them,  until  the 
affiliation  practically  embraced  ten  different  tribes,  all  known  as  the  Sioux 
Nation,  or,  as  the  Indians  called  themselves,  the  Dakota  Nation.  These 
tribes  were  the  Uncpapas.  Ogalallas,  Minneconjoux,  Sans  Arcs,  Yanc- 
tonnais,  Santees,  Northern  Cheyennes,  Tetons,  Assinneboins  and  Brules. 

Some  of  the  Dakotas  were  located  west  of  the  Missouri  before  the 
Minnesota  massacre  ;  others  went  there  after  the  campaigns  of  Generals 
Sibley  and  Sully  on  the  upper  Missouri,  occupying  a  region  extending  from 
the  Platte  River  on  the  south  to  the  Canadian  border  on  the  north.  As 
they  moved  westward  they  gradually  drove  before  them  the  Crow  Indians, 
formerly  a  very  powerful  tribe  who  claimed  all  the  country  as  far  as  the 
Black  Hills  on  the  east,  and  to  the  mountains  on  the  upper  Yellowstone 
and  Big  Horn.  So  strong  were  the  Dakotas  that  many  expeditions  had 
been  unavailingly  made  against  them.  One  was  made  by  General  Harney. 
Later  Generals  Sibley,  Sully.  Dodge,  Stanley,  and  others  in  turn  penetrated 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  193 

their  country.  Yet  so  powerful  and  independent  were  they  that  long 
after  the  line  of  communication  had  been  established  from  the  upper 
Platte  River  to  the  Big  Horn  they  made  their  protests  against  them  in  a 
very  vigorous  way,  especially  on  the  occasion  of  the  Fort  Fetterman 
massacre,  in  which  they  killed  eighty-two  officers  and  men.  In 
accordance  with  their  demand,  that  route  was  eventually  given  up,  and 
the  Forts  Phil  Kearney  and  C.  F.  Smith  were  abandoned  at  their  dictation. 
The  sending  out  of  commissioners  representing  the  government  to  make 
peace  with  them  resulted  in  the  treaty  of  1869,  in  which  the  government 
granted  to  the  Indians  various  reservations  known  as  the  Red  Cloud, 
Spotted  Tail  and  others  in  the  country  west  of  the  Missouri  River.  In 
addition  to  these  reservations  they  were  also  allowed  a  large  range  of 
country  as  hunting  grounds,  where  they  were  to  be  permitted  to  rove  at 
will  in  pursuit  of  game. 

This  treaty  was  partially  observed  by  the  government  for  several  years 
but  it  cannot  be  claimed  that  it  was  very  rigidly  adhered  to.  This  re- 
sulted from  the  fact  that  during  the  years  1873,  '74  and  '75  great  excite- 
ment prevailed  throughout  the  country  owing  to  the  discovery  of  gold  in 
the  mineral  fields  of  what  is  now  known  as  South  Dakota,  and  there  was 
great  clamor  on  the  part  of  prospecting  parties  to  be  allowed  to  enter  that 
region.  In  fact  surveys  were  being  pushed  through  that  territory  for  the 
different  lines  of  railroad,  the  principal  one  being  the  Northern  Pacific, 
and  people  were  eagerly  seeking  opportunities  to  establish  colonies,  take 
up  lands,  open  mines  and  establish  other  interests  in  that  country.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  some  military  expeditions  were  sent  into  the  territory  to 
explore  and  reconnoitre  with  a  view  of  discovering  its  natural  resources. 
This  was  especially  the  case  in  '74  and  '75.  The  country  was  at  that  time 
practically  overrun  by  prospectors  and  mine-hunters  through  the  region  of 
what  is  now  South  Dakota,  and  particularly  in  that  district  known  as  the 
Black  Hills. 

While  the  Indians  claimed  that  the  treaty  of  '68  was  not  adhered  to  by 
the  government,  neither  was  it  observed  by  all  the  tribes  of  Indians. 
While  the  great  chiefs.  Spotted  Tail,  Red  Cloud  and  others,  kept  most  of 
their  people  on  the  reservations  and  carried  out  the  terms  of  the  treaty, 
yet  many  of  their  young  men  would  quietly  steal  away  on  raiding  parties 
and  go  on  long  expeditions  against  the  Crow  Indians  and  the  Mandans,  or 
against  the  white  settlers  wherever  they  could  find  them. 

These  were  animated  and  encouraged  by  the  example  and  influence  of 
an  Indian  called  Crazy  Horse,  who  was  the  personification  of  savage  ferocity. 

M— 12 


194 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


Though  comparatively  a  young  man  he  was  of  a  most  restless  and  adventur- 
ous disposition,  and  had  arrived  at  great  renown  among  the  warriors  even 
before  he  was  twenty-six  years  of  age.  In  fact  he  had  become  the  war-chief 
of  the  southern  Sioux  and  the  recognized  leader  of  the  hostile  Ogalallas. 
Those  Indians  occupying  the  country  still  farther  to  the  north  never 
made  any  pretence  of  being  agency  Indians.  Sitting  Bull  was  the  ex- 
ponent of  that  element.  From  his  youth  he  had  been  a  wild  and  restless 
warrior,  constantly  getting  up  horse-stealing  expeditions 
and  campaigns  against  the  friendly  Crow  and  Mandan 
Indians  and  against  the  whites  both  east  and  west.  The 
latter,  whose  sparse  settlements  skirted  the  western  part 
of  Montana  on  the  west,  and  to  the  east  extended 
along  the  extreme  western  borders  of  Minnesota 
and  eastern  Dakota,  felt  the  effect  of  his  enter- 
prise and  never-ending  hatred.  He  would  rarely 
come  in  to  the  agencies  or  trading  posts;  and 
when  he  did  would  remain  only  the  short  time 
necessary  to  trade  his  furs  for  rifles,  ammunition 
and  whatever  he  required.  He  would  occasionally 
attack  even  his  favorite  trading  places,  namely, 
the  trader's  store  near  Fort  Buford  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  and  the  one  at 
'Poplar  Creek  on  the  Missouri.  He  would 
send  occasional  assurances  of  good  behavior,  and 
then  he  would  come  in  and  after  remaining  several 
hours  to  dispose  of  his  furs  and  robes,  would  go 
away,  and  perhaps  as  he  went  turn  and  stampede 
the  herd  or  tire  a  volley  into  the  post.  On  one  occasion  he  came  into  the 
trader's  post  near  Fort  Buford,  Dakota,  and  was  given  a  red  shirt  with  the 
suggestion  or  request  that  when  he  came  for  war  he  would  wear  that  shirt 
in  order  that  the  trader,  who  desired  to  be  considered  his  friend,  might 
know  what  his  purpose  was.  Sitting  Bull  accepted  it  with  the  remark  that 
"right  now  would  be  a  good  time  to  put  it  on."  He  did  so,  and  as  the  band 
went  out  after  completing  their  trading,  they  turned  and  fired  a  volley  into 
the  post.  They  occasionally  came  down  to  the  fort  and  drove  off  every- 
thing in  the  way  of  stock  that  was  not  gathered  betimes  within  the  pro- 
tection of  the  post  corral. 

The  sawmill  established  there  was  seized  by  them,  and  they  beat  the 
circular  saws  with  great  glee,  thereby  making  what  they  considered  music 


RED  CLOUD,  Sioux  CHIEF. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


195 


like  that  of  tom-toms.  They  felt  very  secure  here,  because  they  thought 
that  by  being  in  possession  of  such  a  place  they  would  not  be  fired  upon. 
But  in  this  they  were  mistaken,  on  one  occasion  at  least,  for  a  piece  of 
artillery  was  trained  upon  them  in  the  sawmill,  and  a  shot  sent  through 
it  killed  two  of  their  men. 

On  another  occasion  when  he  came  in  to  Poplar  Creek  store  with  quite 
a  band  of  warriors  to  trade,  he  took  occasion  to  complain  to  the  trader, 
Mr.  Tabor,  that  he  was  not  getting  enough  in  the  barter.  He  then  jumped 


SITTING  BULL  AND  THE  RED  SHIRT. 

over  the  counter  and  immediately  took  charge  of  the  establishment  him- 
self in  the  most  threatening  manner,  and  to  the  great  delight  of  the 
stalwart  warriors  that  at  that  time  filled  the  store.  He  then  proceeded  to 
hand  down  clothing,  ammunition  and  all  kinds  of  goods  and  receive  upon 
the  counter  buffalo  robes  and  fine  furs.  Then  the  Indians  had  to  barter, 
and  in  mimicry  and  derision  he  would  imitate  the  trader  in  minutely  ex- 
amining the  furs  and  finding  fault  with  their  quality,  complaining  that 
they  were  not  so  good  as  he  wanted,  putting  down  the  valuation  and  say- 
ing that  his  goods  were  so  choice  and  expensive  that  he  could  not  afford  to 
trade  on  any  other  terms.  After  going  through  the  whole  ceremony  of 


196 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


trading,  however,  the  final  result  was  that  each  Indian  received  a  much 
larger  amount  for  his  pelts  and  furs  than  he  was  in  the  habit  of  doing 
when  the  proprietor  was  occupying  the  same  position.  This  mimicry  was 
carried  on  to  the  extreme  delectation  of  his  followers  and  amid  their  jokes 
and  grunts,  but  the  trader  was  in  such  terror  and  hot  rage  that  at  length 
he  resorted  to  a  rather  novel  means  of  defense.  Anticipating  that  on  their 
departure  they  would  either  slay  him  or  destroy  his  store,  and  possibly 
both,  he  determined  that  if  extreme  measures  were  resorted  to  he  would 
blow  up  the  entire  establishment.  He  had  at  one  end  of  the  counter  a 
large  open  keg  of  powder,  from  which  he  was  accustomed  to  supply  the 
wants  of  his  customers.  He  coolly  and  quietly  filled  a  large  pipe  with 
tobacco  and  lighted  it,  and  stepped  over  and  took  his  position  by  this  keg 
of  powder.  Then  he  told  the  interpreter  to  inform  the  Indians  that  if  any 
shooting  was  begun  or  any  violence  commenced,  he  would  empty  the 
lighted  pipe  of  tobacco  into  the  powder,  and  blow  the  store,  and  all  the 
people  in  it,  into  the  air.  The  determination  depicted  on  his  face  and  the 
seriousness  of  what  might  result  to  them  was  a  sufficient  warning  to  the 
Indians  to  continue  their  revelry  in  a  cautious  manner,  though  it  did  not 
immediately  end  the  humorous  phase  of  the  situation. 

Many  of  the  raids  and  marauding  expeditions  were  not  of  such  a  hu- 
morous character  as  this,  but  were  attended  with  the  terrible  atrocities 
that  have  marked  the  history  of  that  frontier.  Trav- 
elers, settlers,  wood-choppers  and  others  along  the 
Missouri  River  were  killed  in  considerable  numbers 
and  frequently  without  warning.  Men  were  often 
tortured  while  women  and  children  were  carried  into 
captivity.  In  the  summer  of  1875  General 
Ouster  conducted  an  exploring  expedition  into 
the  Black  Hills.  It  was  followed  by  an  expe- 
dition under  General  Crook  against  the 
hostile  element  of  the  Sioux  Nation  in  the 
winter  of  1875.  Starting  from  Fort  Laramie 
and  going  north  from  Fort  Fetterman,  his 
command  encountered  the  hostile  Indians 
under  Crazy  Horse  near  the  head  waters  of 
the  Tongue  River.  A  portion  of  his  com- 
mand under  the  gallant  General  Reynolds  surprised  Crazy  Horse  and 
captured  a  herd  of  horses,  but,  in  taking  them  south  they  were  over- 
taken by  a  terrific  snowstorm,  during  which  the  Indians  followed  them 


SPOTTED  TAIL,  Sioux  CHIEF. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  197 

and  succeeded  in  stampeding  the  herd  during  the  night,  and  so  recaptured 
them,  thus  rendering  ineffective  all  the  efforts  of  the  campaign. 

In  the  spring  of  1876  three  expeditions  were  ordered  into  that  country. 
One,  organized  at  Fort  Lincoln,  Dakota,  was  to  be  commanded  by  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel and  Brevet  Major-General  George  A.  Ouster,  but  was  after- 
ward placed  under  the  command  of  General  Terry.  Another  was  or- 
ganized to  move  from  Fort  D.  A.  Russell;  and  a  third,  under  Colonel  and 
Brevet  Major-General  Gibbon,  moved  down  the  Yellowstone  from  Fort 
Ellis,  afterward  forming  a  junction  with  the  column  under  General  Terry 
and  that  under  General  Crook. 

The  command  under  General  Crook  first  encountered  the  Indians  under 
Crazy  Horse  near  the  Rosebud,  and  after  a  sharp  engagement  it  moved 
back  to  its  supply  camp  on  Goose  Creek,  a  southern  tributary  of  Tongue 
River.  The  commands  of  Generals  Terry  and  Gibbon  formed  a  junction 
near  the  mouth  of  Rosebud  and  Yellowstone. 

As  the  command  of  General  Terry  moved  from  Fort  Abraham  Lincoln,  Da- 
kota, crossing  the  Little  Missouri,  Powder  and  Tongue  Rivers,  thence  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Rosebud  River,  scouting  the  country  to  the  south  and  west,  the 
main  trail  of  the  Indians  was  discovered  between  the  Tongue  River  and  the 
Rosebud.  General  Terry,  thereupon,  divided  his  force,  sending  General 
Custer  with  the  Seventh  Cavalry  up  the  Rosebud  ;  and  with  the  remainder  of 
his  force  he  himself  moved  up  the  Yellowstone  and  Big  Horn  to  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Little  Big  Horn.  I  will  not  at  this  time  describe  the  various 
phases  of  General  Custer's  march,  battle  and  tragic  death,  but  will  return 
to  it  one  year  later  in  my  narrative ;  at  which  time  we  camped  on  the 
ground  and  made  a  thorough  examination  of  the  field,  accompanied  by 
twenty-five  of  the  principal  men  who  were  engaged  in  the  fight  on  the  side 
of  the  Indians. 


198  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XV. 
THE   OUSTER  MASSACRE. 

A   SUBJECT    MUCH    DISCUSSED  —  A    PREVAILING    ERRONEOUS    IMPRESSION  —  CAPTAIN    GODFREY'S 

STATEMENT  —  THE  CONCLUSIONS  OF  GENERAL  FRY  —  THE  ERROR  OF  UNDERESTIMATING  THE 

FORCE    OF    THE    ENEMY  —  THE    AUTHOR'S    CONCLUSIONS  AS  TO    THE    CAUSE    OF 

THE     DISASTER  —  THE    FACTS    SET     FORTH  —  RENO     AND    BENTEEN, 

AND      THEIR      COMMANDS      IN      OUSTER'S      LAST      BATTLE. 

T  is  probable  the  battle  on  the  Little  Big  Horn  in  which  a  part  of 
General  Ouster's  command,  including  himself,  was  destroyed, 
and  known  as  the  "  Ouster  Massacre,"  has  been  more  discussed, 
written  about  and  commented  upon,  than  any  other  single  en- 
gagement between  white  troops  and  Indians  has  ever  been.  It 
was  a  terrible  affair,  almost  a  national  disaster  ;  and  there  were 
some  most  remarkable  features  connected  with  it.  The  loss  of 
two  hundred  and  sixty-two  men  under  such  circumstances 
would  have  caused  a  very  searching  investigation  in  almost  any 
country,  and  it  is  strange  that  there  has  never  been  any  judicious  and  im- 
partial investigation  of  all  the  causes  that  led  to  that  disaster.  True, 
there  was  a  court  of  inquiry  held  at  Chicago  some  months  after  the  affair 
occurred.  It  was  called  at  the  request  of  one  of  the  participants,  and  the 
conclusion  was  reached  that  no  further  action  was  required. 

A  general  impression  has  gone  abroad,  and  to  some  extent  prevails 
throughout  the  country  to-day,  prejudicial  to  General  Ouster.  He  has 
been  accused  of  " disobeying  orders,"  and  it  has  been  said  that  "he  had 
made  a  forced  march,"  that  "  he  was  too  impatient,"  that  "  he  was  rash," 
and  various  other  charges  have  been  made,  equally  groundless  and  equally 
unjust,  and  all  started  and  promoted  by  his  enemies. 

It  is  known  that  there  were  two  sets  of  officers  in  his  regiment,  one 
friendly  to  General  Ouster,  and  the  other,  few  in  number,  bitterly  hostile 
to  him.  His  brothers  and  several  of  his  best  friends  died  with  him.  In 
fact,  all  that  could  have  been  known  of  the  purposes  and  influences  that 
governed  his  action  were  thus  lost,  as  none  of  his  immediate  command 
lived  to  explain  the  circumstances.  We  can  only  judge  of  what  prompted 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  199 

his  course  of  procedure  by  what  he  did  previously,  and  by  the  testimony 
of  the  Indians  who  were  opposed  to  him. 

I  have  no  patience  with  those  who  would  kick  a  dead  lion.  It  is  most 
remarkable  that  so  little  was  known  of  the  number  and  character  of  the 
Indians  then  opposed  to  the  United  States  forces. 

Sixteen  years  after  the  affair  occurred,  Captain  E.  S.  Godfrey,  Seventh 
United  States  Cavalry,  an  experienced  and  gallant  officer,  wrote  an  inter- 
esting and  candid  account  of  the  affair,  in  which  he  was  one  of  the  par- 
ticipants, which  was  published  in  the  ''  Century  Magazine "  for  January, 
1892.  Accompanying  that  article  was  a  three-page,  fine-print  article  over 
the  signature  of  James  B.  Fry.  General  Fry,  since  deceased,  was  at  the 
time  of  this  publication  an  officer  of  the  army  of  high  standing  and  repu- 
tation, and  recognized  as  a  good  authority  upon  all  military  matters. 
Students  of  that  campaign  will  be  well  repaid  for  reading  and  studying 
these  two  articles.  In  the  one  by  General  Fry,  on  page  385,  he  says : 

"  Captain  Godfrey's  article  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  authentic  history  of  the 
campaign  which  culminated  in  'Ouster's  Last  Battle,'  June  25,  1870. 

"The  Sioux  war  of  1876  originated  in  a  request  by  the  Indian  Bureau  that  certain  wild 
and  recalcitrant  bands  of  Indians  should  be  compelled  to  settle  down  upon  their  reserva- 
tions under  control  of  the  Indian  agent.  Sitting  Bull,  on  the  Little  Missouri  in  Dakota, 
and  Crazy  Horse,  on  Powder  River,  Wyoming,  were  practically  the  leaders  of  the  hostile 
Indians  who  roamed  over  what  General  Sheridan  called  'an  almost  totally  unknown  re- 
gion, comprising  an  area  of  almost  90,000  square  miles.'  The  hostile  camps  contained 
eight  or  ten  separate  bands,  each  having  a  chief  of  its  own. 

"Authority  was  exercised  by  a  council  of  chiefs.  No  chief  was  endowed  with  supreme 
authority,  but  Sitting  Bull  was  accepted  as  the  leader  of  all  his  bands.  From  five  hun- 
dred to  eight  hundred  warriors  was  the  most  the  military  authorities  thought  the  hostiles 
could  muster.  Sitting  Bull's  camp,  as  Ouster  found  it,  contained  some  eight  or  ten  thous- 
and men,  women,  and  children,  and  about  twenty-five  hundred  warriors,  including  boys, 
these  last  being  armed  with  bows  and  arrows.  The  men  had  good  firearms,  many  of 
them  Winchester  rifles,  with  a  large  supply  of  ammunition. 

"War  upon  this  savage  force  was  authorized  by  the  War  Department,  and  was  con- 
ducted under  the  direction  of  Lieutenant-General  Sheridan  in  Chicago. 

"The  campaign  opened  in  the  winter,  General  Sheridan  thinking  that  was  the  season 
in  which  the  Indians  could  be  'caught.'  He  directed  General  Terry  to  send  a  mounted 
column  under  Custer  against  Sitting  Bull,  and  General  Crook  to  move  against  Crazy 
Horse.  Bad  weather  prevented  Ouster's  movement,  but  Crook  advanced  March  1.  On 
March  17,  he  struck  Crazy  Horse's  band,  was  partially  defeated,  and  the  weather  being 
very  severe,  returned  to  his  base.  The  repulse  of  Crook's  column,  and  the  inability  of 
Custer  to  move,  gave  the  Indians  confidence,  and  warriors  by  the  hundred  slipped 
away  from  the  agencies  and  joined  the  hostiles. 

"In  the  spring  Sheridan's  forces  resumed  the  offensive  in  three  isolated  columns.  The 
first  column,  under  Crook — consisting  of  fifteen  companies  of  cavalry  and  five  companies  of 


200  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

infantry  (total  1049) — marched  northward  from  Fort  Fetterman  May  29.  The  second  col- 
umn, under  General  Terry — consisting  of  the  entire  Seventh  Cavalry,  twelve  companies  (about 
600  men)  ;  six  companies  of  infantry,  three  of  them  on  the  supply  steamboat  (400  men)  ;  a 
battery  of  Gatling  guns  manned  by  infantrymen,  and  forty  Indian  scouts — moved  west- 
ward from  Fort  A.  Lincoln,  on  the  Missouri,  May  17. 

"It  happened  that  while  the  expedition  was  being  fitted  out,  Custer  unwittingly  in- 
curred the  displeasure  of  President  Grant,  who  directed  that  Custer  should  not  accompany 
the  column.  Through  his  appeal  to  the  President  and  the  intercession  of  Terry  and 
Sheridan,  Custer  was  permitted  to  go  in  command  of  the  regiment,  but  Terry  was  required 
to  accompany  and  command  the  column.  Terry  was  one  of  the  best  of  men  and  ablest  of 
soldiers,  but  had  no  experience  in  Indian  warfare. 

"A  third  column  under  General  Gibbon  (Colonel  of  Infantry)  consisting  of  four  com- 
panies of  cavalry  and  six  companies  of  infantry  (450  men  all  told),  marched  eastward  in 
April,  and  united  with  Terry  on  the  Yellowstone,  June  21.  When  these  columns  started 
they  were  all  some  two  or  three  hundred  miles  from  the  central  position  occupied  by  the 
enemy.  Gibbon  was  under  Terry's  control,  but  Crook  and  Terry  were  independent  of 
each  other. 

"The  authorities  believed  that  either  one  of  the  three  columns  could  defeat  the  enemy 
if  it  'caught'  him;  otherwise  isolated  forces  would  not  have  been  sent  to  'operate  blindly,' 
without  means  of  mutual  support,  against  an  enemy  in  the  interior  of  an  almost  totally 
unknown  region.  Indeed  General  Sherman  said  in  his  official  report  of  1876  :  '  Up  to 
the  moment  of  Custer's  defeat  there  was  nothing,  official  or  private,  to  justify  an  officer  to 
expect  that  any  detachment  would  encounter  more  than  five  hundred  or  eight  hundred 
warriors.'  The  appearance  of  twenty-five  hundred  to  three  thousand  in  the  Custer  fight, 
General  Sherman  adds  :  '  amounted  to  a  demonstration  that  the  troops  were  dealing  not 
only  with  the  hostiles  estimated  at  from  five  hundred  to  eight  hundred,  but  with  the  avail- 
able part  of  the  agency  Indians,  who  had  gone  out  to  help  their  friends  in  a  fight.' 

"The  utter  failure  of  our  campaign  was  due  to  underestimating  the  numbers  and  prow- 
ess of  the  enemy.  The  strength  he  was  found  to  possess  proved,  as  General  Sherman 
said  in  Ms  report,  that  the  campaign  had  been  planned  on  wrong  premises.  Upon  this 
point  Gibbon  said:  'When  these  various  bands  succeeded  in  finding  a  leader  who  possess- 
ed tact,  courage,  and  ability  to  concentrate  and  keep  together  so  large  a  force,  it  was 
only  a  question  of  time  when  one  or  the  other  of  the  exterior  columns  would  meet  with 
a  check  from  the  overwhelming  numbers  of  the  interior  body.' 

"  The  first  result  was  that  Crook's  column  encountered  the  enemy,  June  17,  and  was 
so  badly  defeated  that  it  was  practically  out  of  the  campaign." 

In  the  above  extract  General  Fry  shows  by  statements  made  by  them- 
selves that  neither  General  Sherman,  commanding  the  army,  nor  General 
Sheridan,  commanding  the  military  division,  was  aware  of  the  formidable 
character  of  the  hostile  force,  and  Captain  Godfrey  in  his  statement  says 
that  General  Custer  a  few  days  before  the  fight,  in  a  council  with  his  offi- 
cers advised  them  that  from  the  best  information  he  could  obtain  they 
would  not  have  to  meet  more  than  one  thousand,  or  at  the  maximum, 
fifteen  hundred  hostiles.  These  statements  show  that  our  troops  were 


GENERAL  GEORGE  A.  CUSTER. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  203 

entirely  without  knowledge  of  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  and,  as  General 
Sheridan  states,  operating  in  an  almost  totally  unknown  region.  A  fact 
still  more  remarkable  is  that  they  were  operating  on  exterior  lines  without 
any  positive  concert  of  action  or  direct  communication. 

In  the  first  affair  with  the  Sioux,  previously  alluded  to,  General  Crook 
met  with  so  serious  a  repulse  that  on  the  following  day  he  commenced  his 
retreat  back  to  his  base  of  supplies,  eighty  miles  distant,  and  remained 
there  until  several  weeks  later,  when  he  was  reinforced  by  General  Merritt. 
If  the  two  commands  of  Crook  and  Terry  had  been  acting  in  concert  they 
could  have  united,  as  they  were  not  more  than  forty  or  fifty  miles  apart 
at  the  time.  So  apparent  was  this  want  of  knowledge  of  the  strength  of 
the  enemy  that  even  when  General  Terry's  force  came  together  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Rosebud,  he  felt  it  safe  to  divide  it  again,  and  send  General 
Custer  up  the  Rosebud,  and  with  the  remainder,  including  the  column 
under  General  Gibbon  and  a  battery  of  Gatling  guns,  he  himself  moved  up 
the  Yellowstone  and  Big  Horn  to  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Big  Horn. 

As  to  what  the  understanding  was  when  the  two  commands  separated, 
the  best  evidence  is  the  written  order  of  battle,  and  it  cannot  be  disputed, 
or  gainsaid,  or  misconstrued.  The  nature  of  such  an  order  must  be  regarded 
as  absolute.  It  is  like  the  constitution  of  a  State  or  the  fundamental  law 
of  a  community.  The  order  in  question  was  given  in  very  plain  language, 
as  follows : 

CAMP  AT  MOUTH  OF  ROSEBUD  RIVER,  ) 

MONTANA  TERRITORY,  June  22nd,  1876.  \ 
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL  CUSTER,  Seventh  Cavalry. 

COLONEL  :  —  The  Brigadier  General  commanding  directs  that,  as  soon  as  your  regiment 
can  be  made  ready  for  the  march,  you  will  proceed  up  the  Rosebud  in  pursuit  of  the 
Indians  whose  trail  was  discovered  by  Major  Reno  a  few  days  since.  It  is,  of  course,  im- 
possible to  give  you  any  definite  instructions  in  regard  to  this  movement,  and  were  it  not 
impossible  to  do  so  the  Department  Commander  places  too  much  confidence  in  your  zeal, 
energy  and  ability  to  wish  to  impose  upon  you  precise  orders  which  might  hamper  your 
action  when  nearly  in  contact  with  the  enemy.  He  will,  however,  indicate  to  you  his  own 
views  of  what  your  action  should  be,  and  he  desires  that  you  should  conform  to  them 
unless  you  shall  see  sufficient  reason  for  departing  from  them.  He  thinks  that  you  should 
proceed  up  the  Rosebud  until  you  ascertain  definitely  the  direction  in  which  the  trail 
above  spoken  of  leads.  Should  it  be  found  (as  it  appears  almost  certain  that  it  will  be 
found)  to  turn  towards  the  Little  Horn,  he  thinks  that  you  should  proceed  southward,  per- 
haps as  far  as  the  headwaters  of  the  Tongue,  and  then  turn  towards  the  Little  Horn,  feeling 
constantly,  however,  to  your  left,  so  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  the  escape  of  the  In- 
dians to  the  south  or  southeast  by  passing  around  your  left  flank.  The  column  of  Colonel 
Gibbon  is  now  in  motion  for  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn.  As  soon  as  it  reaches  that  point 
it  will  cross  the  Yellowstone  and  move  up  at  least  as  far  as  the  forks  of  the  Big  and  Little 


204  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

Horns.  Of  course  its  future  movements  must  be  controlled  by  circumstances  as  they 
arise,  but  it  is  hoped  that  the  Indians,  if  upon  the  Little  Horn,  may  be  so  nearly  enclosed 
by  the  two  columns  that  their  escape  will  be  impossible. 

The  Department  Commander  desires  that  on  your  way  up  the  Rosebud  you  should 
thoroughly  examine  the  upper  part  of  Tulloch's  Creek,  and  that  you  should  endeavor  to 
send  a  scout  through  to  Colonel  Gibbon's  column,  with  information  of  the  result  of  your 
examination.  The  lower  part  of  this  creek  will  be  examined  by  a  detachment  from  Colonel 
Gibbon's  command.  The  supply  steamer  will  be  pushed  up  the  Big  Horn  as  far  as  the 
forks  if  the  river  is  found  to  be  navigable  for  that  distance,  and  the  Department  Com- 
mander,-who  will  accompany  the  column  of  Colonel  Gibbon,  desires  you  to  report  to  him 
there  not  later  than  the  expiration  of  the  time  for  which  your  troops  are  rationed,  unless 
in  the  meantime  you  receive  further  orders.  Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

E.  W.   SMITH, 
Captain  Eighteenth  Infantry,  Acting  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

It  will  be  observed  that  General  Ouster  was  directed  to  move  up  the 
Rosebud  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians.  The  next  sentence,  it  will  be  noticed, 
leaves  no  question  that  it  was  expected  that  his  command  would  come 
in  contact  with  the  Indians  ;  and  surely  when  this  command  was  directed 
to  move  by  a  course  in  which  they  would  be  placed  from  forty  to  fifty 
miles  distant  from  any  other,  confidence  was  reposed  in  the  knowledge, 
zeal,  and  ability  of  the  commander  to  exercise  his  best  judgment.  It  is 
folly  to  suppose  that  either  a  small  or  a  large  band  of  Indians  would 
remain  stationary,  and  allow  one  body  of  troops  to  come  up  on  one  side 
of  it  while  another  body  came  up  on  the  other  side  and  engage  it  in  battle. 
It  is  fair  to  give  the  Indians  credit  for  a  reasonable  amount  of  intelli- 
gence. 

Again,  when  Ouster's  command  was  ordered  to  move  out  as  it  did,  it 
left  the  Indians,  who  were  acting  on  interior  lines,  absolutely  free  to 
attack  either  one  of  the  commands  thus  separated,  or  fight  them  in  detail 
as  might  be  preferred.  But  we  have  positive  evidence  in  the  form  of  an 
affidavit  of  the  last  witness  who  heard  the  two  officers  in  conversation 
together  on  the  night  before  their  commands  separated,  and  it  is  conclu- 
sive on  the  point  at  issue.  This  evidence  is  that  General  Terry  returned 
to  General  Ouster's  tent  after  giving  him  the  final  order,  to  say  to  him  that 
on  coming  up  to  the  Indians  he  would  have  to  use  his  own  discretion  and 
do  what  he  thought  best.  This  conversation  occurred  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Rosebud,  and  the  exact  words  of  General  Terry,  as  quoted  by  the  witness 
are: 
"  Ouster,  I  do  not  know  what  to  say  for  the  last." 

Ouster  replied:  "  Say  what  you  want  to  say." 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


205 


Terry  then  said:  "  Use  your  own  judgment,  and  do  what  you  think  best  if 
y ou  strike  the  trail ;  and  whatever  you  do,  Ouster,  hold  on  to  your  wounded." 

This  was  a  most  reasonable  conversation  for  the  two  officers  under  the 
circumstances.  One  had  won  great  distinction  as  a  general  in  the  civil 
war ;  was  an  able  lawyer  and  depart- 
ment commander,  yet  entirely  without 
experience  in  Indian  campaigns.  The 
other  had  won  great  distinction  as 
one  of  the  most  gallant  and  skillful 
division  commanders  of  cavalry  dur- 
ing the  war,  commanding  one  of  the 
most  successful  divisions  of  mounted 
troops  ;  he  had  years  of  experience  on 
the  plains  and  in  handling  troops 
in  that  remote  country,  and  he  had 
fought  several  sharp  engagements 
with  hostile  Indians. 

As  the  command  of  the  Seventh 
Cavalry  moved  out,  upwards  of  six 
hundred  strong,  the  leader  was  fully 
confident  that  he  was  able  to  cope  with 
any  body  of  Indians  that  they  were  likely  to  encounter,  and  all  were  in 
the  best  of  spirits  at  the  prospect  of  a  vigorous,  and  what  they  believed 
would  be  a  successful  campaign.  Moving  up  the  Rosebud  until  he  struck 
the  main  trail,  then  following  this  up  to  the  divide  separating  the  Rose- 
bud from  the  Little  Big  Horn,  and  on  to  the  latter  stream,  it  is  fair  to  be- 
lieve that  from  the  reports  he  received  Custer  feared  that  the  Indians 
might  make  their  escape  without  his  being  able  to  bring  them  to  an  en- 
gagement. 

The  fact  of  his  slow  marches  indicates  his  care  and  judiciousness  in  go- 
ing from  the  mouth  of  the  Rosebud  to  the  battlefield  on  the  Little  Big 
Horn.  The  first  day's  march  was  only  four  hours,  or  twelve  miles  in  dis- 
tance. The  second  day,  June  23,  thirty-three  miles  or  twelve  hour's  march, 
with  long  halts  for  the  purpose  of  examining  trails,  abandoned  camps,  and 
evidences  of  the  presence  of  Indians.  The  third  day,  the  24th,  twelve  hours 
inarch  or  twenty-eight  miles.  The  night  of  the  24th,  between  11:30  and 
the  morning  of  the  25th,  he  moved  ten  miles  in  order  to  conceal  his  move- 
ments and  position  from  the  enemy.  On  the  morning  of  the  25th, 
between  eight  and  ten,  he  moved  ten  miles,  later  fifteen;  in  all  108  miles 


GENERAL  TERRY'S  LAST  ORDER  TO  CUSTEB. 


206  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

in  four  days.  During  these  four  days,  he  frequently  called  his  officers  to- 
gether and  counseled  with  them ;  in  fact  his  directions  amounted  almost 
to  an  appeal.  They  were  pathetic. 

Captain  Godfrey  says  that  General  Ouster  stated  that  with  the  regi- 
ment acting  alone  there  would  be  harmony,  but  acting  with  another  or- 
ganization there  might  be  jealousy ;  that  the  marches  would  be  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  per  day ;  and  that  officers  were  cautioned  to 
husband  the  supplies  and  strength  of  their  commands ;  on  another  occa- 
sion, that  they  must  act  together  and  not  become  separated ;  again,  he  in- 
formed them  that  the  trail  led  over  the  divide,  and  that  he  was  anxious  to 
get  as  near  the  divide  as  possible  before  daylight,  where  the  command 
could  be  concealed  during  the  day,  and  give  ample  time  for  the  country  to 
he  studied ;  that  he  expected  to  fight  on  the  26th. 

With  a  large  cavalry  command  like  that  moving  over  a  dry  and  dusty 
country,  it  was  next  to  impossible  to  conceal  it.  Any  movement  of  the 
scouts  or  of  the  command  was  liable  to  be  quickly  discovered  by  the  enter- 
prising enemy.  Not  only  did  General  Ouster  receive  reports  of  the  exact 
locality  of  the  Indian  camp,  but  he  also  discovered  through  more  than  one 
source  that  the  Indians  were  aware  of  the  presence  of  the  troops.  This 
undoubtedly  caused  him  to  move  against  them  on  the  25th  to  prevent  if 
possible  their  escape,  as  he  evidently  expected  that  they  would  make  such 
an  attempt,  and  had  they  succeeded  he  would  have  been  severely  censured. 
But  whatever  impression  of  this  nature  Ouster  may  have  been  under,  he 
decided  to  make  the  attack  during  the  forenoon  of  the  25th. 

He  formed  his  command  in  three  columns,  moving  parallel  to  each 
other  and  practically  in  line.  He  took  position  himself  on  the  right,  with 
five  troops  of  cavalry.  Reno  was  directed  to  follow  the  trail  with  three 
troops  and  attack  the  village.  Benteen  with  three  troops  was  to  move  on 
the  extreme  left,  Ouster's  object  undoubtedly  being  to  attack  in  this  form, 
which  allowed  sufficient  space  between  the  columns  for  the  deployment  of 
the  three  commands,  and  yet  would  not  prevent  their  acting  in  concert. 

In  moving  out  from  the  valley  of  the  Rosebud,  over  the  divide  to  the 
valley  of  the  Little  Big  Horn,  it  was  fair  to  presume  that  the  presence  of 
the  command  would  have  been  discovered  by  the  Indians,  and  he  may 
have  thought  that  if  he  did  not  attack  them,  they  would  make  their  escape 
without  waiting  to  find  themselves  placed  between  two  forces,  or,  very 
naturally,  with  their  entire  force  would  attack  him. 

On  approaching  the  Little  Big  Horn,  Ouster  followed  the  trail  down  a 
small  tributary  of  that  stream.  It  was  long  afterward  learned  that  a 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  207 

large  body  of  Sioux  warriors  had  returned  from  their  encounter  with 
General  Crook's  command  on  the  Rosebud,  June  17,  over  this  trail,  thus 
making  it  a  fresh  one  and  possibly  giving  Ouster  the  impression  that  the 
Indian  camp  was  moving.  The  Indians  state  as  a  reason  for  their  failure 
to  discover  the  approach  of  Ouster's  command  until  it  was  upon  their 
camp,  that  they  had  been  all  the  night  previous  to  the  battle  celebrating 
what  they  claimed  was  a  successful  encounter  with  the  troops  on  the 
Rosebud,  and  were  consequently  sleeping  late  in  the  forenoon.  Ouster  un- 
doubtedly expected  to  find  their  camp  at  the  junction  of  the  Little  Big 
Horn  with  the  small  creek  down  which  he  was  following  the  trail,  and 
made  his  disposition  accordingly  by  moving  the  three  battalions  of  his  reg- 
iment in  parallel  columns. 

Ouster's  order  to  Major  Reno  to  move  forward  on  the  trail  and  attack 
the  village,  and  that  he  would  be  supported  by  the  other  battalions,  was  a 
proper  command,  and  did  not  imply  that  the  supports  would  follow  im- 
mediately in  his  footsteps.  An  attack  by  the  battalion  on  his  right  or  on 
his  left  or  by  both  simultaneously,  would  be  the  most  effective  support  he 
could  have  had. 

As  these  battalions  were  moving  forward  into  action  Ouster  rode  forward, 
well  in  advance  with  the  scouts,  and  ascending  a  high  butte  where  he 
could  overlook  the  valley,  discovered  that  the  Indians,  instead  of  being 
encamped  at  the  junction  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  and  the  creek  down 
which  Reno  was  moving,  had  moved  down  the  left  bank  of  the  Little  Big 
Horn  and  camped  two  miles  below  the  junction.  Here  it  was  that  he 
changed  the  order  in  the  disposition  of  his  troops  by  sending  a  courier  to 
his  left  column,  commanded  by  Captain  Benteen,  with  a  despatch  contain- 
ing these  words.  "  Come  on.  Big  village.  Be  quick.  Bring  packs. "  The 
last  referring  to  the  pack-train  that  was  following  a  short  distance  behind 
the  command  escorted  by  one  troop  and  having  the  reserve  ammunition. 
As  he  sent  no  despatch  to  Reno  to  change  his  movements,  he  evidently 
expected  that  officer  to  follow  the  trail  and  attack  as  he  did  in  accordance 
with  the  then  existing  orders. 

The  intervals  between  the  columns  had  by  this  time  become  somewhat 
increased,  although  not  to  the  extent  of  placing  them  beyond  supporting 
distance,  which  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  Benteen's  command  was  easily 
reached  by  the  courier,  and  that  Reno's  command  could  be  seen  from  the 
crest  where  Ouster's  column  was  moving. 

Reno  followed  the  trail  down  the  tributary  of  the  Little  Big  Horn, 
crossing  that  stream,  and  then,  moving  down  on  the  left  bank  on  the  wide, 


208  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

flat  prairie,  he  deployed  his  command  in  line  of  skirmishers  with  supports, 
and  moving  further  down  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  village,  he 
commenced  firing  into  it  from  a  strong  position  that  had  formerly  been 
the  bed  of  a  river,  or  behind  what  is  known  as  a  "  cut  bank,"  where  he  dis- 
mounted his  command ;  his  horses  being  thereby  furnished  a  safe  shelter 
in  the  brush  and  timber  in  the  rear  of  his  line  of  troops.  His  men  occupied 
an  excellent  position,  where  they  were  completely  covered  behind  what 
was  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  natural  rifle-pit,  and  from  which  they 
could  fire  and  easily  enfilade  the  Indian  village.  If  he  had  held  this  posi- 
tion it  would  have  been  of  the  greatest  advantage  and  might  have  had  a 
decisive  effect  upon  the  final  result. 

The  Indians  were  camped  in  the  following  order:  The  Uncpapas, 
Ogalallas,  Minneconjoux,  Sans  Arcs  and  Cheyennes.  The  camp  was  thrown 
into  great  consternation.  As  the  firing  commenced  at  the  upper  end  of 
the  village  the  Indians  fled  from  it,  first  trying  to  strike  their  tents  and 
escape,  but  in  many  instances  abandoning  them.  The  women  and  children 
fled  out  onto  the  prairie,  and  the  warriors  gathered  out  to  the  left  on  a 
"  mesa,"  or  high  ground,  some  four  or  five  hundred  yards  from  the  village. 

There  they  commenced  skirmishing  with  Reno's  troops,  but  their  fire 
had  little  effect  until  Major  Reno  ordered  his  command  to  mount.  Then 
he  ordered  them  to  dismount,  and  again  to  mount ;  and  finally  directing 
them  to  follow  him,  he  dashed  out  of  the  timber,  leaving  the  strong  posi- 
tion, and  galloped  back  across  the  plain  toward  the  hills  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Little  Big  Horn.  The  Indians  seeing  this  movement  of  the  troops, 
and  interpreting  it  as  a  retreat,  as  it  was,  rushed  after  them  in  hot  pur- 
suit. As  was  quite  natural  they  took  every  advantage  of  the  disorder  in 
the  ranks  where  officers  and  men  were  running  such  a  wild  race,  rushing 
and  climbing  as  best  they  could  up  the  steep  banks  of  the  stream  and  did 
all  the  injury  possible  before  the  troops  reached  the  high  bluffs  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Little  Big  Horn.  Here  they  came  in  contact  with  Cap- 
tain Benteen's  command  as  he  was  moving  down  on  the  high  ground  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  river  in  accordance  with  Ouster's  last  order  to 
"Come  on,"  and  "Be  quick,"  and  in  a  way  that  if  he  had  not  been  inter- 
rupted by  the  retreat  of  Reno,  would  in  a  few  minutes  more  have  brought 
his  command  into  action  between  those  of  Custer  and  Reno.  Captain  Ben- 
teen  halted  his  men  and  helped  to  rally  the  battalion  of  Major  Reno.  In 
that  vicinity  the  two  commands  remained  the  entire  day  and  night.  One 
commander  had  received  positive  and  repeated  orders  from  Custer  to  attack 
the  enemy ;  the  other  had  received  Custer's  last  and  equally  positive  order 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


209 


to  "Come  on,"  "Be  quick,"  and  "Bring  packs"  containing  the  reserve  am- 
munition. The  courier  who  brought  Ouster's  last  order  was  the  best  pos- 
sible guide  to  be  had  to  lead  the  way  to  Ouster's  position  if  any  direction 
was  needed ;  but  the  sound  of  the  rifle  shots  and  the  volleys  down  the 
river  indicated  exactly  where  the  troops  and  the  ammunition  were  re- 
quired and  should  have  gone. 

Under  rules  governing  all  military  forces,  whenever  two  commands 
come  together  the  senior  officer  is  responsible  for  the  whole.  And  the 
senior  officer  should  give  the  necessary  orders.  Major  Reno  was  therefore 
the  responsible  commander  at  that  point. 

Captain  Godfrey  says  that  from  where  Reno's  command  remained  they 
could  hear  the  firing  going  on  farther  down  in  the  valley  between  Ouster's 
men  and  the  Indians,  for  a  long  time.  The  Indians  disappeared  from  that 


ing  chased  Major  Re- 
of  the  valley  and  up 
Captain  Weir  with 
a  short  distance  along 
direction  of  the  firing, 
smoke  and  dust  and 
tion  in  the  valley,  re- 
could  go  no  further. 


front  after  hav- 
no's  troops  out 
on  the  b  1  u  ff  s . 
his  troops  moved 
the  crest  in  the 
and  seeing 
a  great  com  mo- 
ported  that  he 
That  may  have 
been  a  time 
when  one  troop 
under  a  gallant 
officer  might  not 
have  been  able 
to  go  where 

seven  troops  could  and  ought  to  have 
gone.  One  of  the  scouts,  Herendeen, 
and  thirteen  men  who  were  with  Reno, 
and  who  were  left  in  the  timber  from 
which  Reno  retreated,  after  the  Indians 
had  gone  down  the  valley,  walked 
across  the  plain,  forded  the  river,  and 
rejoined  their  command  on  the  hill. 
These  two  movements  indicate  that 
there  were  no  Indians  in  this  vicinity 
during  the  time  that  the  firing  was  going  on  that  is  mentioned  by  Godfrey, 


THE  OUSTER  BATTLEFIELD  Two  YEARS 
AFTER. 


210  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

down  the  valley  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  where  the  real  battle  was 
being  fought. 

All  that  was  known  of  the  fate  of  Ouster's  command  for  at  least  two 
years,  was  derived  chiefly  from  the  evidence  found  upon  the  field  after  the 
engagement.  In  this  way  it  became  known  that  his  trail,  after  pass- 
ing the  butte  from  which  he  had  sent  the  last  order  to  Captain  Ben- 
teen,  bore  on  down  toward  the  Indian  village  nearing  the  creek  at  one 
point  of  low  ground,  and  then  moving  to  the  right  where  it  took  position 
along  a  crest  parallel  with  the  Little  Big  Horn  and  the  Indian  village. 
Here  the  dead  bodies  showed  that  the  engagement  had  occurred  along  this 
crest.  The  bodies  of  the  men  were  found,  some  on  the  slope  toward  the 
Indian  camp,  many  on  the  crest,  and  some  back  a  shoi't  distance  in  the 
rear  of  the  crest.  Lieutenant  Crittenden's  body  was  found  near  the  ex- 
treme left ;  Captain  Keogh,  with  a  number  of  his  troops,  in  the  rear  of  the 
center ;  General  Custer  and  his  two  brothers  on  the  extreme  right.  The 
bodies  of  some  forty  soldiers  were  found  scattered  on  the  ground  between 
the  extreme  right  and  the  Little  Big  Horn,  those  nearest  the  river  in  a 
small  ravine  or  depression  of  ground. 

At  first  the  impression  was  that  Custer  had  attempted  to  go  down  this 
ravine  and  had  been  driven  back ;  but  no  horses  were  found  along  this  line 
of  dead  bodies.  This  is  approximately  all  that  is  known  of  the  fate  of 
Custer  and  his  command  from  what  information  could  be  obtained  from 
the  appearance  of  the  ground  and  the  bodies  of  the  men  and  horses  after 
the  fight.  This  tragic  ending  of  our  republic's  first  centennial  gave  a 
theme  to  the  poet  Longfellow,  who  wrote  the  following  lines : 

THE    REVEXGE    OF    RAIN-IF-THE-FACE. 

In   that  desolate  land  and  lone, 
Where  the   Big  Horn  and   Yellowstone 

Roar  down  their  mountain  path, 
By  their  fires  the  Sioux  Chiefs 
Muttered  their  woes  and  griefs 

And  the  menace  of  their  wrath. 

"  Revenge  !  "  cried  Rain-in-the-Face, 
"  Revenge   upon  all  the  race 

Of  the   White  Chief  with  yellow  hair!" 
And  the  mountains  dark  and  high 
From  their  crags  re-echoed  the  cry 
Of  his  anger  and  despair. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES 


211 


In  the  meadow,  spreading  wide 
By  woodland  and  riverside 

The  Indian  village  stood  ; 
All  was  silent  as  a  dream, 
Save  the  rushing  of  the  stream 

And  the  blue-jay  in  the  wood. 


In  his  war  paint  and  his  beads, 
Like  a  bison  among  the  reeds, 

In  ambush  the  Sitting  Bull 
Lay  with  three  thousand  braves 
Crouched  in  the  clefts  and  caves 

Savage,  unmerciful  ! 


Into  the   fatal   snare 

The   White   Chief  with  yellow  hair 

And  his  three  hundred  men 
Dashed  headlong,  sword  in  hand  ; 
But  of  that  gallant  band 

Not  one  returned  again. 

The  sudden  darkness  of  death 
Overwhelmed  them  like  the  breath 

And  smoke  of  a  furnace  fire ; 
By  the  river's  bank,  and  between 
The  rocks  of  the  ravine. 

They   lay  in  their  bloody  attire. 

But  the  foetnen  fled  in  the  night, 
And  Rain-in-the-Face,  in  his  flight, 

Uplifted   high  in  air 
As  a  ghastly  trophy,  bore 
The   brave  heart,   that  beat  no  more, 

Of  the  White  Chief  with  yellow  hair. 


• 


Whose  was  the  right  and  the  wrong  ? 
Sing  it,  O  funeral  song, 

With  a   voice  that  is  full  of   tears, 
And  say  that  our  broken  faith 
Wrought  all  this  ruin  and  scathe, 

In  the  Year  of  a  Hundred   Years. 


RAIN-IS-THB-FAOE. 


M— 13 


212  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

AFTER  THE  OUSTER  MASSACRE. 

ORDERS  TO  REINFORCE  GENERAL  TERRY  —  XOTES  OF  PREPARATION  —  FAREWELL  TO  FAMILIES  AND 

FRIENDS  —  DEPARTURE  FROM  FORT  LEAVENWORTH  —  INCIDENTS  OF  THE  JOURNEY   UP  THE 

MISSOURI —  AFFAIRS  AT  THE  MOUTH  OF  THE  YELLOWSTONE  —  FORT  BUFORD  TO  THE 

ROSEBUD  —  JUNCTION  OF  TERRY  AND  CROOK  —  THE  LARGEST  MILITARY  FORCE 

EVER   ASSEMBLED   ON  THE   PLAINS  —  CAPTAIN  AJJSON  MILLS  AT 

SLIM  BUTTES  —  GENERALS  TERRY  AND  CROOK  REPAIR  TO 

WINTER   QUARTERS   TO    RESUME    THE   CAMPAIGN 

IN  THE  SPRING  —  "  YELLOWSTONE  KELLEY  " 

—  IN    CANTONMENT  —  SEVERITY 

OF  THE  CLIMATE  IN 

WINTER. 

HE  announcement  of  the  annihilation  of  Ouster  and  this  large 
body  of  men,  whatever  may  have  been  the  causes  of  the  same 
as  discussed  in  the  preceding  chapter,  shocked  the  entire 
country,  and  was  telegraphed  around  the  world  as  a  great  dis- 
aster. I  remember  reading  on  the  morning  of  July  5,  at  Fort 
Leaven  worth,  Kansas,  the  headline  of  a  newspaper,  printed  in  the 
largest  kind  of  type  and  running  across  the  entire  page  the  sin- 
gle word,  ''  Horrible."  Then  followed  a  brief  but  graphic  account 
of  the  disaster  upon  the  Little  Big  Horn.  It  shocked  our  little  com- 
munity there  perhaps  more  than  it  did  any  other  part  of  the  country, 
as  General  Ouster  was  well  known  among  us.  He  and  his  regiment  were 
most  popular  throughout  all  that  region,  and  the  disaster  seemed  to  their 
friends  most  appalling.  It  seemed  to  magnify  in  the  public  mind  the  pow- 
er and  terrors  of  the  Sioux  Nation,  and  immediate  orders  were  sent  to  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country  directing  that  detachments  of  troops  be  ordered 
to  the  seat  of  war. 

Six  companies  of  my  regiment  were  ordered  to  move  from  Fort  Leaven- 
worth  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Whistler,  but  as  six  companies  were  more 
than  half  of  the  regiment,  I  claimed  that  by  right  it  was  a  colonel's  com- 
mand and  requested  to  be  ordered  with  it  myself,  which  request  was  at 
once  granted.  Subsequently  the  remainder  of  the  regiment  was  ordered 
to  follow.  The  prospect  of  going  up  into  that  "dark  and  bloody  ground'' 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  213 

was  certainly  not  the  most  inspiring,  but  as  I  had  a  well-drilled  and 
splendidly-disciplined  regiment,  experienced  in  Indian  campaigning — a 
command  in  which  I  placed  a  confidence  which  was  reciprocated  by  offi- 
cers and  soldiers — I  did  not  feel  the  least  hesitancy  in  taking  it  up  into 
that  country.  The  sympathy  expressed  for  us  by  the  friends  of  the  regi- 
ment was,  however,  fully  appreciated. 

Within  a  few  days  the  command  was  equipped  for  the  field,  and  the 
announcement  that  the  regiment  was  to  leave  by  train  on  a  certain  day  at 
a  specified  hour,  brought  a  large  concourse  of  people  from  the  surrounding 
country,  numbering  hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  to  see  us  move  away. 
Many  were  presented  with  bouquets  and  other  tokens  of  regard,  and  while 
it  was  an  inspiring  sight  to  behold  the  resolute  and  determined  appearance 
of  both  officers  and  men,  yet  within  all  our  hearts  there  was  certainly  a 
deep  sadness  as  we  bade  adieu  to  our  families  and  friends.  The  command 
was  paraded,  and,  at  the  order  to  march,  stepped  off  as  lightly  over  the  turf 
as  they  were  accustomed  to  do  in  their  ordinary  parades ;  the  band  playing 
"  The  Girl  I  Left  Behind  Me,"  and  one  of  the  national  airs.  We  marched 
to  the  depot,  and  from  there  were  moved  by  train  to  Yankton,  Dakota. 

As  we  passed  through  the  towns  and  villages  it  reminded  me  of  the 
time  when  the  troops  were  going  to  the  war  for  the  Union  in  the  days  of 
1861  and  '62,  Many  of  the  public  buildings  and  private  houses  were  draped 
in  mourning,  and  frequently  the  national  colors  were  displayed  in  token  of 
sympathy  for  the  dead  and  encouragement  for  the  living.  The  command 
was  cheered  wherever  it  passed  a  gathering  of  citizens,  and  finally  went 
on  board  a  large  river  steamer  at  Yankton.  As  we  moved  up  the  river  the 
same  tokens  of  respect  and  confidence  were  shown  at  every  village  we 
passed,  and  these  demonstrations  were  answered  by  the  cheers  and  hurrahs 
of  the  men,  indicating  the  utmost  confidence  in  their  own  prowess.  As 
we  passed  one  of  the  military  posts,  a  few  officers  and  ladies  of  the  gar- 
rison were  down  on  the  beach  to  watch  our  steamer  ploughing  its  way  up 
the  Missouri  River.  One  of  the  officers  signaled  a  single  word  to  us  with 
a  handkerchief,  as  we  were  beyond  the  reach  of  communication  except  by 
signaling ;  the  word  was  "  Success."  To  show  their  confidence  and  at  the 
same  time  their  independence,  one  of  our  men  signaled  back  two  short 
words,  "  You  bet." 

These  and  like  incidents  marked  our  course  until  we  reached  Fort  Lin- 
coln which  we  found  shrouded  in  the  deepest  gloom  and  mourning.  The 
relatives  and  friends  of  that  portion  of  the  gallant  Seventh  that  had 
perished  were  still  at  this  military  station.  More  than  thirty  widows  of 


214 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


officers  and  soldiers  were  there  in  sadness  and  loneliness,  including  the 
widow  of  the  brave  Ouster.  Such  a  scene  could  not  fail  to  touch  every 
heart,  while  it  nerved  them  all  to  fortitude  for  the  future.  Here  the 
command  was  inspected  by  the  department  inspector  to  see  that  all  the 
paraphernalia  and  equipments  that  were  supposed  to  be  demanded  for  such 
a  campaign  as  was  before  it.  had  been  supplied.  The  command  was  found 
in  perfect  condition,  having  all  the  equipments  required  by  the  regulations. 


SCENE  ON  THE  STEAMBOAT. 

The  inspection  being  over  we  reembarked,  and,  after  moving  up  the 
Missouri  for  several  miles,  an  order  was  given  for  the  troops  to  pack  up  all 
the  paraphernalia  that  we  had  found  in  our  experience  with  the  southern 
Indians  to  be  not  absolutely  essential  for  a  campaign  in  the  field.  These 
included  bayonets  and  bayonet  scabbards,  sabres,  cartridge  boxes,  military 
caps,  &c.  This  order  was  received  by  the  men  with  a  hurrah,  and  they 
quickly  and  carefully  packed  in  boxes  to  be  shipped  down  the  river  all  that 
they  did  not  require,  realizing  that  to  carry  unnecessary  material  on  the 
long,  weary  marches  was  a  useless  burden.  In  place  of  cartridge  boxes, 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  215 

they  gladly  buckled  about  their  waists  the  more  useful  equipment  of  cart- 
ridge belts,  with  the  cartridges  carefully  polished  for  immediate  and  seri- 
ous action. 

For  ten  days  the  great  steamer  ploughed  its  way  up  the  Missouri,  fre- 
quently coming  upon  a  sand  bank,  owing  to  the  constant  changes  in  the 
channel  of  that  turbulent  river.  When  an  accident  of  this  kind  occurred 
the  great  shafts  in  the  bow  of  the  boat  were  lowered,  and  with  the  engines 
the  bow  was  partially  lifted  off,  while  the  stern  wheel  was  reversed  and 
then  another  effort  made  to  find  the  main  current  of  the  waters.  At  one 
time  near  the  close  of  day  the  bow  struck  a  sand  bank.  The  weary  roust- 
abouts on  board  the  vessel,  impatient  and  tired  as  they  were  with  the  day's 
work  were  still  inclined  to  be  humorous,  one  of  them  remarking  that  "it  had 
been  said  that  the  world  was  created  in  six  days,  but  he  did  not  believe  that 
the  Creator  had  yet  made  up  his  mind  where  he  wanted  the  Missouri  River." 

During  the  day  the  men  occupied  themselves  in  polishing  their  cart- 
ridges or  looking  over  their  equipments  to  see  that  everything  was  in 
order,  or  in  cleaning  their  rifles.  When  at  leisure  they  were  engaged  in 
reading,  or  in  writing  letters  to  their  friends  to  be  sent  back  whenever 
they  might  have  an  opportunity.  In  the  evening  they  gathered  on  the 
upper  and  lower  decks  and  amused  themselves  by  listening  to  the  songs  of 
those  of  their  number  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  have  fine  voices  and 
were  good  solo  or  quartette  singers. 

We  reached  Fort  Buford,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  just  after 
dark,  and  a  large  number  of  the  officers  and  men  came  down  to  the  wharf 
to  see  our  troops.  Such  terror  had  the  disaster  to  Ouster  occasioned  in  the 
hearts  of  these  men  that  they  seemed  overcome  with  sadness;  not  a  cheer 
greeted  our  command  as  the  steamer  moved  up  to  the  wharf;  and  they  were 
surprised  to  hear  from  the  deck  a  quartette  of  our  men  singing  the  most 
jolly  and  rollicking  songs  that  they  knew,  with  a  chorus  of  laughter  joined 
in  by  their  comrades. 

We  then  moved  on  up  the  Yellowstone,  and  during  our  first  evening  on 
that  river  I  noticed  some  trepidation  on  the  part  of  one  of  the  black  serv- 
ants as  the  men  were  about  to  put  down  their  blankets  for  the  night.  He 
appeared  a  shade  lighter  than  usual  as  he  said  to  the  steward  of  the 
steamer,  "  Hyar  massa,  kin  you  inform  me  which  is  de  Sioux  side  of  dis 
yere  Yellowstone?"  Upon  being  asked  why  he  wanted  to  know,  he  said, 
"So  I  kin  lay  my  blanket  down  on  de  udder  side  of  de  boat." 

We  continued  our  journey  up  to  the  Rosebud  and  I  reported  my  com- 
mand to  Brigadier-General  Terry.  We  formed  part  of  his  forces  during  the 


216  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

two  months  following,  and  moved  up  the  Rosebud,  where  General  Terry's 
troops  joined  those  under  Brigadier-General  Crook.  This  brought  the  two 
department  commanders  together  with  one  of  the  largest  bodies  of  troops 
ever  marshalled  in  that  country.  The  combined  forces  then  moved  east 
across  the  Tongue  River  to  the  mouth  of  the  Powder  River.  There  the 
commands  separated  again,  General  Crook  crossing  the  tributaries  of  the 
Yellowstone  and  Little  Missouri,  then  going  southeast, 
crossing  the  Belle  Fourche,  and  going  into  camp  near  the 
Black  Hills.  His  command  suffered  very  much  for  want 
of  food  and  many  of  his  animals  perished  on  this 
march.  He  sent  some  troops  on  in  advance,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Anson  Mills,  now  colonel  of  the 
Third  Cavalry,  to  obtain  supplies.  This  gallant 
and  skillful  officer  surprised  a  band  of  Indians 
near  Slim  Buttes  and  captured  their  camp,  con- 
taining a  large  amount  of  supplies  which  proved 
of  great  benefit  to  his  detachment  and  also  to  the 
troops  of  General  Crook  when  they  came  up. 
This  command  moved  south  from  the  Black 

Hills  to  the  various  stations  and  did  not,  as  a  whole,  take  any  further  part 
in  the  campaign  against  the  Sioux. 

From  the  mouth  of  the  Powder  River  the  remaining  portion  of  the 
command,  under  General  Terry,  moved  north  to  the  Big  Dry,  thence  east, 
then  south  again,  and  ultimately  to  Glendive,  on  the  Yellowstone.  There 
it  embarked  in  steamers  and  returned  to  the  various  stations,  leaving  my 
command,  the  Fifth  Infantry,  with  six  companies  of  the  Twenty-second 
Infantry,  in  the  field  to  occupy  that  country  during  the  approaching 
winter. 

It  was  contemplated  that  my  troops  should  build  a  cantonment,  but  it 
was  not  supposed  that  they  would  do  much  more  than  occupy  that  much 
of  the  country  until  the  next  spring,  when  it  was  expected  that  they  would 
form  the  basis  for  another  season's  campaign.  This  order  was  given  by 
General  Sherman,  commanding  the  army,  and  he  also  made  an  order  for  a 
larger  body  of  troops  to  be  located  at  that  point.  For  several  reasons  the 
cavalry  regiment  first  designated  to  be  a  part  of  that  command  was  not 
sent  into  that  country.  A  few  horses  were  procured — about  thirty  in  all— 
for  mounting  some  of  the  infantry  to  act  as  couriers  and  messengers.  A 
few  fi'iendly  Indians  were  also  obtained  for  the  command,  as  well  as  a  few 
frontiersmen  for  service  as  scouts  and  guides. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  217 

It  was  my  purpose  when  I  found  I  had  been  designated  to  remain  in 
that  country  not  to  occupy  it  peaceably  in  conjunction  with  the  large 
bodies  of  Indians  that  were  then  in  the  field,  and  which  practically 
included  the  entire  hostile  force  of  the  five  Indian  tribes,  namely :  the 
Uncpapas  under  Sitting  Bull,  the  Ogalallas  under  Crazy  Horse,  the  North- 
ern Cheyennes  under  Two  Moons,  and  the  Minneconjoux  and  Sans  Arcs 
under  their  trusted  leaders.  Judging  from  our  experience  of  winter  cam- 
paigning in  the  southwest,  I  was  satisfied  that  the  winter  was  the  best 
time  for  subjugating  these  Indians.  At  that  period  it  was  regarded  as 
utterly  impossible  foi  white  men  to  live  in  that  country  and  endure  the 
extreme  cold  outside  the  protection  of  well-prepared  shelter.  But  I  was 
satisfied  that  if  the  Indians  could  live  there  the  white  men  could  also, 
if  properly  equipped  with  all  the  advantages  we  could  give  them,  which 
were  certainly  superior  to  those  obtainable  by  the  Indians.  I  remarked  to 
General  Terry  that  if  given  proper  supplies  and  a  reasonable  force,  I  would 
clear  the  Indians  out  of  that  country  before  spring.  He  remarked  that  it 
was  impossible  to  campaign  in  the  winter,  and  that  I  could  not  contend 
against  the  elements. 

About  this  time  fortune  threw  in  my  way  a  man  who  was  destined  to 
prove  very  valuable  to  me,  and  who  was  known  in  that  country  by  the 
soubriquet  of  "Yellowstone  Kelley."  Mr.  Kelley  had 
gone  into  that  region  as  early  as  1868,  and  had  lived 
there  as  a  hunter  and  bearer  of  dispatches  ever  since. 
He  was  an  educated  man,  came  of  a  good  family,  and 
was  young  and  strong ;  but  he  had  become  so  infatu- 
ated with  that  wild  life  and  with  the  beauties  of  nature 
as  he  found  them  there,  that  he  had  remained,  mak- 
ing that  country  his  permanent  home.  He  had  trav- 
ersed almost  every  part  of  it.  In  coming  down 
the  Yellowstone  he  had  killed  a  large  bear,  and 
cutting  off  one  of  its  paws  he  sent  it  in  to  me 
as  his  card,  and  with  his  compliments.  This 
led  to  an  acquaintance  and  an  inquiry  on  my 
part  into  his  career  and  capabilities.  I  felt 
convinced  that  he  was  a  person  who  could  be  «  YELLOWSTONE  »  KELLEY. 

put  to  a  very  useful  purpose  at  that  juncture 

of  affairs,  and  on  expressing  myself  to  that  effect  I  found  that  he  was  ready 
to  place  himself  at  my  service.  I  supplied  him  with  two  of  the  best 
horses  I  had,  one  being  a  thoroughbred,  and  with  these  he  made  several 


218  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

long  journeys  by  himself.  I  shall  have  occasion  to  mention  his  name  from 
time  to  time  as  this  narrative  proceeds. 

My  command  moved  from  Glendive  to  the  junction  of  the  Tongue  River 
with  the  Yellowstone,  where  ground  had  already  been  selected  for  the 
cantonment  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  J.  N.  G.  Whistler,  Fifth  United  States 
Infantry,  and  every  preparation  was  being  made  in  the  way  of  the  cutting 
of  timber,  the  hauling  of  logs,  and  the  building  of  huts  for  the  shelter  of 
the  stores,  as  far  as  possible,  as  well  as  for  the  shelter  of  the  troops  while 
they  were  in  cantonment.  Preparations  were  made  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  entire  command  during  the  winter,  but  I  felt  sure  that  simply  to 
hibernate  and  allow  the  Indians  to  occupy  the  country  meant  a  harassing 
and  unendurable  existence  for  the  winter;  besides  giving  great  encourage- 
ment to  the  Indians  by  permitting  them  to  believe  themselves  masters  of 
the  situation  while  we  were  simply  tolerated  upon  the  ground  we  occupied. 
My  opinion  was  that  the  only  way  to  make  the  country  tenable  for  us  was 
to  render  it  untenable  for  the  Indians;  and  with  that  view  I  made  all  the 
preparations  necessary  for  the  protection  of  our  stores,  and  every  possible 
provision  for  the  comfort  of  the  troops  when  they  should  be  able  to  rest. 
I  also  made  the  most  careful  preparations  for  a  vigorous,  active,  and  severe 
winter  campaign.  I  appreciated  all  the  terrors  of  that  rigorous  climate, 
and  determined  not  to  expose  the  troops  to  any  unnecessary  hardships,  or 
to  undertake  a  campaign  in  the  snows  of  Montana  and  Dakota  with  no 
better  equipments  than  those  found  necessary  for  a  summer  campaign  in 
Texas.  I  was  satisfied  that  if  the  Indians  could  live  in  that  country  in 
skin  tents  in  winter,  even  though  sheltered  by  favorable  bluffs  and  loca- 
tions and  not  required  to  move,  that  we,  with  all  our  better  appliances 
could  be  so  equipped  as  to  not  only  exist  in  tents,  but  also  to  move  under 
all  circumstances. 

I,  therefore,  as  far  as  possible,  equipped  my  command  as  if  I  were  organ- 
izing an  expedition  for  the  Arctic  regions;  and  in  respect  to  climatic  effects, 
the  record  during  that  time  and  since  has  demonstrated  that  the  severity 
of  the  cold  of  winter  there  was  nearly  equal  to  anything  encountered  by 
Schwatka,  Greely  or  other  explorers.  During  the  winter  campaigns  of 
1876  and  '77  all  the  mercurial  thermometers  we  had  with  us  were  frozen 
solid.  The  following  winter  a  spirit  thermometer  registered  between  55° 
and  60°  below  and  the  lowest  record  was  on  Poplar  Creek  where  the  com- 
mand crossed  in  1876,  and  where  the  thermometer  subsequently  registered 
66°  below  zero;  which  was  equal  to  the  cold  of  the  Arctic  regions.  That 
temperature  is  simply  appalling.  Even  when  the  air  was  perfectly  still 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


219 


and  all  the  moisture  of  the  atmosphere  was  frozen,  the  air  was  filled  with 
frozen  jets,  or  little  shining  crystals. 

We  were  abundantly  supplied  with  food  and  clothing,  and  every  pre- 
caution was  taken  to  protect  both  men  and  animals  against  the  severity  of 
this  intense  cold.  Every  effort  was  also  made  to  keep  the  train  and  riding 
animals  in  full  flesh.  They  were  fed  abundance  of  corn  to  give  as  much 
heat  to  their  systems  as  possible,  and  plenty  of  hay  whenever  it  could  be 
obtained,  and  when  this  was  not  obtainable  they  were  given  the  dry  grass 
of  the  country  that  is  cured  on  the  ground. 

Both  officers  and  men  profited  by  the  experience  they  had  been  through 
in  the  winter  campaigns  in  the  Indian  Territory,  and  applied  themselves 

zealously  to  their  equip- 
ment in  every  possible 
way.    In  addition  to  the 
usual    strong 


MARCHIXG  ix  WINTER. 


woolen  cloth- 
ing furnished  for  the 
uniform,  they  cut  up 
woolen  blankets  and 
made  themselves  heavy 

and  warm  underclothing.  They  were  abundantly  supplied  with  mittens 
and  with  arctics  or  buffalo  overshoes,  and  whenever  it  was  possible  they 
had  buffalo  moccasins  made,  and  frequently  cut  up  grain  sacks  to  bind 
about  their  feet  in  order  to  keep  them  from  freezing.  They  made  woolen 
masks  that  covered  the  entire  head,  leaving  openings  for  the  eyes  and  to 
breathe  through,  and  nearly  all  had  buffalo  overcoats.  This  command  of 
more  than  four  hundred  men  looked  more  like  a  large  body  of  Esquimaux 
than  like  white  men  and  United  States  soldiers.  In  fact  with  their  masks 
over  their  heads  it  was  impossible  to  tell  one  from  another. 

When  the  snow  was  deep  they  frequently  marched  in  single  file,  the 
leading  man  breaking  the  road  until  weary,  then  falling  out  for  another  to 
take  his  place  and  returning  to  the  rear  of  the  column  while  the  fresh 


220 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


man  continued  to  beat  the  pathway  through  the  snow.  At  night  they 
made  large  fires  of  dry  cottonwood  and  frequently  slept  on  the  snow  be- 
side them.  They  crossed  all  the  principal  rivers,  the  Missouri,  the  Yellow- 
stone and  the  Tongue,  with  heavily-loaded  wagons  and  pieces  of  artillery 
on  the  solid  ice.  These  active  operations  continued  from  early  in  Octo- 
ber until  the  middle  of  February. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


221 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
A  WINTER  CAMPAIGN. 

PREPARING  FOR  A  WINTER  CAMPAIGN  —  SITTING  BULL  DIVIDES  His  FORCES  —  A  NARROW  ESCAPE  — 
SUPPLY  TRAIN  DRIVEN  BACK   BY   INDIANS  —  HUNTING  FOR  SITTING  BULL  —  HE  Is  FOUND 
—  MEETING  BETWEEN  THE  LIXES  —  ATTEMPTED  TREACHERY  —  A  SECOND  MEETING  — 
CONFERENCE  ENDS  ABRUPTLY  —  THE  BATTLE   OPENS  —  PRAIRIE  ON  FIRE — IN- 
DIANS DEFEATED  AND  HOTLY  PURSUED  —  AGAIN  A  FLAG  OF  TRUCE  —  MAIN 
BODY   OF    INDIANS  AGREE  TO  SURRENDER    AT    AGENCY  AND  GIVE 
HOSTAGES  —  ESCAPE  OF   SITTING  BULL  AND   PORTION   OF   IN- 
DIANS—  SCOUT  BOYD — AGAIN  AFTER    SITTING  BULL  — 
CAPTAIN     BALDWIN      SURPRISES     AND      ROUTS 
HIM  —  RETURN     TO    THE     CANTONMENT. 

HILE  the  work  of  constructing  the  cantonment  was  going  on, 
and  preparations  were  being  made  for  an  active  winter  cam- 
paign, I  went  with  a  small  escort  over  the  country  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Tongue  River  to  Fort  Buford  at  the  junction  of 
the  Missouri  and  Yellowstone,  in  order  to  reconnoitre  and  find 
the  best  route  by  which  to  bring  trains  from  that  supply  depot. 
In  the  meantime  I  made  every  effort  to  obtain  the  best  infor- 
mation in  regard  to  the  position  and  disposition  of  the  hostile  forces, 
as  from  the  latest  news  1  had  received  I  knew  that  their  main  body 
must  be  something  more  than  a  hundred  miles  to  the  south  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone. 1  had  spies  at  the  different  agencies  who  obtained  infor- 
mation from  the  runners  who  were  constantly  going  from  the  agency 
Indians  to  those  in  the  hostile  camp,  and  by  that  means  found  out  much 
that  was  useful  to  me.  In  fact,  in  all  campaigns  against  the  hostile 
Indians  I  have  found  a  few  good  spies  that  would  give  me  reliable  and 
accurate  information  of  inestimable  value  as  early  as  possible. 

On  my  return  from  Fort  Buford  I  stopped  at  Camp  Glendive  on  the 
Yellowstone.  About  five  hours  after  leaving  this  camp,  a  message  was  re- 
ceived there  for  me,  sent  from  one  of  the  lower  agencies  from  a  reliable 
source,  giving  me  the  most  important  information.  Instead  of  send- 
ing this  message  to  my  camp,  it  was  sent  through  the  ordinary  means 
(by  courier)  over  a  distance  of  nearly  a  hundred  miles,  to  the  canton- 
ment at  the  mouth  of  the  Tongue  River.  I,  therefore,  did  not  get  it 


222  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

until  several  days  later,  when  I  should  have  received  it  within  five  hours. 
This  information  apprised  me  of  the  fact  that  the  large  camps  of  Sitting 
Bull  and  Crazy  Horse  had  separated  some  distance  south  of  the  Yellow- 
stone ;  that  Crazy  Horse  with  the  Cheyennes  and  Ogalallas  was  going 
west  to  the  Rosebud ;  and  that  a  large  number  of  Uncpapas,  Sans  Arcs, 
and  Minneconjoux  would  in  three  days  be  on  the  Yellowstone,  and  in  five 
days  on  the  Big  Dry  north  of  the  Yellowstone,  where  they  intended  to 
make  a  camp  and  hunt  buffaloes.  This  brought  them  into  the  very 
country  I  was  passing  through  on  the  route  from  Glendive  to  the  Tongue 
River,  and  I  had  a  very  narrow  escape  from  meeting  a  large  camp  with 
my  small  escort  of  about  thirty  men.  Still,  though  not  aware  that 
the  Indians  were  in  that  vicinity,  I  had  taken  the  same  precautions  from 
habit  that  I  would  have  taken  had  I  been  expecting  to  encounter  them. 
We  grazed  our  animals  in  the  afternoon  when  we  could  see  the  surround- 
ing country,  with  our  outposts  on  the  lookout,  and  always  fastened  the 
animals  securely  at  night. 

In  fact  the  advance  guard  of  Sitting  Bull  had  evidently  discovered  our 
party,  and  that  night  about  eleven  or  twelve  o'clock  a  body  of  twenty  or 
thirty  young  Indians  passed  our  camp,  shooting  and  yelling  and  firing 
their  guns  in  an  endeavor  to  stampede  our  horses  and  mules.  This  they 
did  not  succeed  in  doing,  but  they  did  succeed  in  perforating  the  tent,  in 
which  I  was  sleeping,  with  rifle  balls.  Their  fire  was  returned  by  our  own 
guards  and  they  were  driven  away  without  doing  any  serious  damage.  The 
next  day  we  marched  rapidly,  and  the  day  following  reached  our  canton- 
ment in  safety,  realizing  that  our  work  for  the  winter  was  near  at  hand. 

A  few  days  later,  as  a  train  with  a  strong  escort  was  marching  from 
Glendive  to  the  cantonment,  it  encountered  quite  a  large  body  of  Indians 
and  was  forced  to  turn  back  for  reenforcements.  These  were  speedily 
furnished  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Otis,  who  succeeded 
in  bringing  the  train  through  without  serious  loss.  This  movement  of  the 
Indians,  and  the  attack  upon  and  delay  of  our  train,  convinced  'me  that  our 
work  was  now  to  commence  in  earnest. 

The  number  of  troops  originally  ordered  by  General  Sherman,  com- 
manding the  army,  to  winter  on  the  Yellowstone  under  my  command  was 
fifteen  hundred,  but  owing  to  various  circumstances  and  causes  the  force 
had  been  reduced  until  only  about  one-third  of  that  number  were  placed 
at  my  disposal.  I  learned  through  spies  and  other  means  of  the  design  of 
Sitting  Bull  to  move  to  the  mouth  of  Powder  River,  and  other  particulars 
of  his  intended  movements.  The  fact  of  the  party  of  warriors  under  Chief 


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GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


225 


Gall  making  the  attack  on  the  train  confirmed  the  reports  I  had  received 
through  other  sources,  and  on  October  17, 1876, 1  moved  across  the  Yellow- 
stone at  the  mouth  of  the  Tongue  River,  proceeding  thence  northeast  in 
order  that  I  might,  if  possible,  intercept  the  march  of  the  hostiles. 

On  the  21st  my  command  was  brought  in  contact  with  the  hostile 
tribes  of  Minneconjoux,  Sans  Arcs,  and  Uncpapas  under  the  command  of 
Sitting  Bull,  Low  Neck,  Gall,  Pretty  Bear  and  other  chiefs.  At  the  time 
there  were  two  friendly  Indians  from  the  agency  in  their  camp  and  for 
some  reason  they  sent  out  by  these  two  men  a 
flag  of  truce,  and  desired  to  have  a  talk.  , 
were  approaching  their  camp,  although  a 
time  we  did  not  know  its  exact  locality, 
agreed  to  meet  Sitting  Bull  between  tl 
lines  with  six  men — one  officer  and  fi\ 
men — while  he  was  to  have 
the  same  number  of  warriors 
with  him.  His  force  consisted 
of  about  a  thousand  warriors, 
and  I  had  three  hundred  and 
ninety-four  riflemen  with  one 
piece  of  artillery. 

We  met,  and  after  some 
conversation  he  desired  to  know 
what  the  troops  were  remaining  in 
that  country  for,  and  why  they  did 
not  go  back  to  their  posts  or  into 
winter  quarters.  He  was  informed 
that  we  were  out  to  bring  him  and 
his  Indians  in,  and  that  we  did  not 
wish  to  continue  the  war  against 
them,  but  that  if  they  forced  the 
war  it  would  end,  as  all  Indian  wars  had  ended  and  must  end,  by  their 
putting  themselves  under  the  authorities  at  Washington.  He  was  told 
that  he  could  not  be  allowed  to  roam  over  the  country,  sending  out  war 
parties  to  devastate  the  settlements.  He  claimed  that  the  country  be- 
longed to  the  Indians  and  not  to  the  white  men,  and  declared  that  he 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  white  men  and  wanted  them  to  leave  that 
country  entirely  to  the  Indians.  He  said  that  the  white  man  never  lived 
who  loved  an  Indian,  and  that  no  true  Indian  ever  lived  that  did  not  hate 


CHIEF  GALL. 


226  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

the  white  man.  He  declared  that  God  Almighty  made  him  an  Indian  and 
did  not  make  him  an  agency  Indian  either,  and  he  did  not  intend  to  be 
one.  After  much  talk,  and  after  using  all  the  powers  of  persuasion  of 
which  I  was  master,  I  was  convinced  that  something  more  than  talk 
would  be  required. 

On  first  meeting  Sitting  Bull  I  naturally  studied  his  appearance  and 
character.  He  was  a  strong,  hardy,  sturdy  looking  man  of  about  five  feet 
eleven  inches  in  height,  well-built,  with  strongly-marked  features,  high 
cheek  bones,  prominent  nose,  straight,  thin  lips,  and  strong  under  jaw,  in- 
dicating determination  and  force.  He  had  a  wide,  large,  well-developed 
head  and  low  forehead.  He  was  a  man  of  few  words  and  cautious  in  his 
expressions,  evidently  thinking  twice  before  speaking.  He  was  very  de- 
liberate in  his  movements  and  somewhat  reserved  in  his  manner.  At  first 
he  was  courteous,  but  evidently  void  of  any  genuine  respect  for  the  white 
race.  Although  the  feeling  was  disguised,  his  manner  indicated  his  ani- 
mosity toward  those  whom  he  had  to  meet.  During  the  conversation  his 
manner  was  civil  and  to  some  extent  one  of  calm  repose.  He  might  have 
been  mistaken  for  a  mild,  plain-spoken,  inoffensive  man  until  I  devel- 
oped the  other  side  of  his  nature.  In  the  course  of  the  conversation  he 
asked  me  what  I  came  into  that  country  for  with  that  large  body  of  sol- 
diers. I  informed  him  that  I  came  out  after  him  and  his  people.  Then 
he  wanted  to  know  how  I  knew  he  was  there.  Without  giving  him  the 
source  of  my  information  I  told  him  that  I  not  only  knew  where  he  was, 
but  where  he  was  from  and  where  he  was  going. 

He  said,  "  Where  am  I  going  ? " 

I  said,  "  You  intend  to  remain  here  three  days,  and  then  move  to  the 
Big  Dry  and  hunt  buffaloes." 

This  statement  excited  the  wild,  savage  ferocity  of  his  nature.  He  evi- 
dently suspected  treachery  on  the  part  of  some  of  his  people,  and  that  I 
had  gained  information  of  his  movements  and  his  purposes  from  them,  as 
indeed,  I  had,  although  I  did  not  inform  him  either  of  the  source  or  the 
methods  by  which  I  obtained  knowledge  of  his  movements.  This  fact  en- 
raged him  so  that  he  finally  gave  an  exhibition  of  wild  frenzy.  His  whole 
manner  appeared  more  like  that  of  a  wild  beast  than  a  human  being ;  his 
face  assumed  a  furious  expression ;  his  jaws  were  closed  tightly ;  his  lips 
were  compressed,  and  you  could  see  his  eyes  glistening  with  the  fire  of 
savage  hatred.  He  reminded  me  of  Halleck's  description  of  Red  Jacket. 

He  seemed  to  think  that  the  Sioux  camp  was  more  powerful  than 
anything  he  had  seen  in  that  country,  and  assumed  an  air  of  lofty 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  227 

independence.  Lieutenant  Bailey  and  myself  had  no  arms  except  the  revol- 
vers in  our  belts.  During  the  conversation  a  young  warrior  came  up  behind 
Sitting  Bull  and  quietly  slipped  a  carbine  under  the  latter's  buffalo  robe, 
and  the  six  men  that  he  had  originally  brought  with  him  were  increased 
by  ten  or  a  dozen  others  that  quietly  joined  the  party,  one  at  a  time. 
Anticipating  treachery  (and  I  afterward  learned  that  this  was  his  purpose), 
I  informed  him  that  all  but  the  original  six  men  must  return  to  the  main 
body  of  Indians  in  the  distance  or  our  conversation  would  immediately 
cease.  I  found  that  it  was  useless  to  endeavor  to  persuade  him  to  accept 
peaceable  terms,  and  made  an  excuse  for  discontinuing  the  talk.  I  then 
moved  with  my  men  back  in  the  direction  from  which  we  had  come. 

The  next  morning  I  moved  soon  after  daylight  in  the  direction  in  which 
I  believed  their  main  camp  to  be  located,  and  discovered  it  after  a  march 
of  ten  miles.  Sitting  Bull  again  came  forward  with  a  flag  of  truce  and 
desired  another  talk,  which  was  granted,  but  it  resulted  as  fruitlessly  as 
the  first.  The  only  condition  of  peace  which  he  would  consent  to  was  the 
abandonment  of  the  entire  country,  including  military  posts,  lines  of 
travel,  settlements;  in  fact  everything  but  a  few  trading  posts  which  might 
be  left  to  furnish  them  with  ammunition  and  supplies  in  exchange  for 
their  buffalo  robes  and  whatever  they  had  to  sell.  Finding  his  disposition 
to  be  one  of  positive  hostility,  he  was  finally  informed  that  unless  he  ac- 
cepted the  terms  of  the  government  and  placed  his  people  under  our  gov- 
ernment and  laws,  as  all  other  Indians  had  done,  he  would  be  pursued  until 
he  was  driven  out  of  the  country  or  until  he  succeeded  in  driving  the  troops 
out.  He  was  told  that  no  advantage  of  his  being  under  the  flag  of  truce 
would  be  taken,  and  he  would  be  allowed  to  return  to  his  camp,  but  that  in 
fifteen  minutes,  if  he  did  not  accept  the  terms  offered,  we  would  open  fire 
and  hostilities  would  commence. 

He  and  the  men  who  accompanied  him  then  returned  with  all  speed 
toward  their  lines,  calling  out  to  the  Indians  to  prepare  for  battle,  and  the 
scene  was,  for  the  next  few  minutes,  one  of  the  wildest  excitement.  The 
prairies  were  covered  with  savage  warriors  dashing  hither  and  thither  mak- 
ing ready  for  battle.  At  the  end  of  the  time  mentioned,  I  ordered  an  ad- 
vance of  the  entire  body  of  troops,  and  immediately  the  Indians  com- 
menced setting  fire  to  the  dry  prairie  grass  around  the  command,  together 
with  other  acts  of  hostility.  An  engagement  immediately  followed  in 
which  the  Indians  were  driven  out  of  their  camp  for  several  miles,  and  in 
the  two  days  following  were  hotly  pursued  for  a  distance  of  more  than 
forty  miles 


228  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

The  Indians  lost  a  few  of  their  warriors  and  a  large  amount  of  property 
both  in  their  camp  and  on  their  retreat,  including  their  horses,  mules  and 
ponies,  which  fell  into  our  hands.  Although  the  troops  were  outnumbered 
fully  three  to  one,  yet  the  fortitude  displayed  by  them  was  most  gratifying. 
The  engagement  gave  them  the  utmost  confidence  in  themselves  and  at 
the  same  time  they  impressed  the  Indians  most  profoundly  with  their  per- 
sistent, offensive  mode  of  fighting  and  pursuit. 

At  one  time  the  command  was  entirely  surrounded  by  Indians,  and  the 
troops  were  formed  in  a  large  hollow  square  in  open  order  and  deployed  at 
five  paces,  with  all  the  reserves  brought  into  action,  yet  not  a  single  man 
left  his  place  or  failed  to  do  his  full  duty.  The  engagement  demonstrated 
the  fact  that  the  Indians  could  not  stand  artillery,  and  that  there  was  no 
position  they  could  take  from  which  the  infantry  could  not  dislodge  them. 

The  energy  of  the  attack  and  the  persistence  of  the  pursuit  created 
such  consternation  in  their  camp  that,  after  a  pursuit  of  forty -two  miles, 
the  Indians  sent  out  another  flag  of  truce  and  again  requested  an  inter- 
view. During  this  interview  two  thousand  of  them  agreed  to  go  to  their 
agencies  and  surrender.  They  gave  up  five  of  their  principal  chiefs  as 
hostages  for  the  faithful  execution  of  this  agreement.  These  chiefs  were 
sent  down  the  Yellowstone  and  Missouri  to  their  agencies  under  charge  of 
Lieutenant  Forbes,  Fifth  United  States  Infantry.  Although  the  terms  of 
their  surrender  were  not  fully  carried  out  at  the  agency  when  they  arrived 
there,  and  it  was  no  fault  of  the  Indians,  still  very  favorable  results  had 
been  accomplished.  But  Sitting  Bull,  Gall,  Pretty  Bear  and  several  other 
chiefs,  with  nearly  four  hundred  people,  broke  away  from  the  main  camp 
and  retreated  north  toward  the  Missouri. 

The  command  on  returning  to  the  cantonment  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Tongue  River  was  immediately  reorganized,  and  with  a  force  of  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty-four  men  of  the  Fifth  Infantry,  again  moved  north  in  pur- 
suit of  Sitting  Bull  and  the  chiefs  mentioned.  Striking  the  trail  on  a 
tributary  of  the  Big  Dry,  we  followed  it  for  some  distance,  and  until  it  was 
obliterated  by  a  severe  snowstorm.  The  command  continued  north  to  the 
Missouri,  and  thence  west,  reconnoitering  the  country  for  nearly  a  hundred 
miles  toward  the  mouth  of  the  Musselshell  River  where  it  empties  into 
the  Missouri.  We  encountered  very  severe  winter  weather  in  the 
month  of  November,  the  ground  being  covered  with  snow  and  the  nights 
intensely  cold.  Three  days  we  marched  along  the  high  divide  between  the 
Yellowstone  and  Missouri,  without  wood  in  our  camps,  and  using  melted 
snow  in  place  of  water. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  229 

Moving  along  over  the  country,  frequently  two  or  three  miles  in  ad- 
vance of  the  command,  I  would  ascend  an  elevation  or  prominent  butte 
and  look  over  the  country  to  discover  any  indication  of  hostile  camps  that 
might  be  in  the  vicinity.  I  was  usually  accompanied  by  a  few  officers  and 
soldiers,  with  a  few  scouts.  At  one  time  when  we  stopped  on  the  square 
top  of  a  butte,  one  of  the  scouts,  George  Boyd,  dismounted  to  get  a  better 
view  with  his  field  glass  of  the  surrounding  country.  He  was  a  man  very 
much  deformed,  club-footed  in  both  feet,  and  as  they  turned  in  and  were 
covered  with  short  round  moccasins,  he  made  a  very  singular  track  or 
trail  in  the  snow.  I  good-naturedly  remarked  that  he  left  the  most  re- 
markable trail  behind  him  that  I  had  ever  seen.  In  like  spirit  he  replied 
that  this  was  true  and  added: 

"  Several  years  ago  when  I  was  carrying  dispatches  my  horse  gave  out,  and  I  went  the 
balance  of  the  way  to  my  destination  on  foot.  The  Indians  struck  my  trail  in  the  snow, 
and  following  it  to  the  military  post  to  which  it  led,  came  in  and  reported  to  the  officer  in 
command  that  they  had  found  this  singular  trail  and  wanted  to  know  what  kind  of  an 
animal  it  was,  and  which  way  he  was  going." 

During  this  march  in  order  to  more  fully  reconnoitre  the  country,  the 
command  was  divided  into  three  columns.  Retaining  one  myself,  the  sec- 
ond was  placed  under  Captain  Snyder  and  the  third  under  Lieutenant 
Baldwin.  The  last  named  command  succeeded  in  striking  Sitting  Bull's 
camp  at  the  head  of  the  Red  Water,  where  it  captured  a  large  part  of  his 
camp  equipage  and  some  horses. 

As  illustrative  of  the  extraordinary  difficulties  under  which  the  troops 
prosecuted  the  campaigns  that  destroyed  the  power  of  the  Sioux  nation,  I 
present  the  story  of  the  affair  above  referred  to,  in  Captain  Baldwin's  own 
language  as  he  subsequently  described  it,  in  writing  to  a  friend,  and  not 
writing  with  a  view  of  its  ever  being  published.  Having  explained  the 
movements  leading  up  to  the  discovery  of  Sitting  Bull's  probable  location, 
his  account  proceeds  as  follows : 

MY  DKAR  FRIEND  : — One  can  scarcely  realize  my  feelings  of  responsibility  when  I 
had  decided  to  move  from  the  Assiniboin  Agency  southward  to  the  Yellowstone,  via  the 
Red  Water  River,  in  the  face  of  the  most  positive  opposition  of  every  officer  with  me. 
The  morning  I  left  the  agency  and  crossed  to  the  south  of  the  Missouri  River,  I  had  less 
than  two  days  rations  for  my  men  and  but  three  sacks  of  oats  for  my  animals,  numbering 
eighty  mules  and  four  horses.  It  was  the  most  severe  season  of  the  year  (December). 
The  country  was  absolutely  unknown  by  any  white  man,  the  snow  was  two  feet  deep,  and 
I  could  not,  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  expect  to  find  supplies  in  less  than  five 
days.  All  night  preceding  this  march,  the  undertaking,  the  obstacles  to  be  met  and  over- 
come, the  horrible  fate  that  might  result  to  that  brave  and  confiding  command,  were  con- 
M— 14 


230  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

sidered  and  too  vividly  haunted  ine  every  hour  and  moment  both  day  and  night  until  we 
reached  the  goal  of  our  undertaking.  When  I  was  given  command  of  this  battalion  op- 
posite the  mouth  of  Squaw  Creek,  and  the  general  took  command  of  a  less  number  of 
men,  it  was  a  question  as  to  which  would  find  the  hostile  Indians,  and  with  the  only  order 
or  suggestion  given  by  him  hi  that  earnest  manner  characteristic  of  him,  he  said,  "  Now 
Baldwin  do  the  best  you  can.  I  am  responsible  for  disaster,  success  will  be  to  your  credit ; 
you  know  what  my  plans  are  and  what  we  are  here  for."  Still  fully  realizing  that  I  alone 
could  be  held  individually  responsible  for  disaster,  and  having  located  beyond  a  doubt 
Sitting  Bull's  camp,  I  was  bound  to  make  the  effort  to  strike  him,  trusting  to  the  indomita- 
ble will  and  intelligent  ingenuity  of  the  American  soldier  for  success.  Not  once  on  that 
march  (ever  memorable  to  me)  did  I  hear  a  soldier  complain.  On  the  morning  of  the  18th. 
when  we  had  discovered  Sitting  Bull's  camp  at  the  head  of  the  Red  Water,  there  was  not 
a  man  who  did  not  join  his  company,  although  many  of  them  were  sick  and  about  worn 
out.  The  results  of  this  engagement  are  known,  not  the  least  of  which  was  a  securing  of 
sufficient  supplies  to  satisfy  the  hunger  of  every  man  of  the  command  that  night,  as  well 
as  an  assured  ration  for  the  following  day  or  two. 

I  have  often  been  asked  how  1  used  my  men  in  an  encounter  with  the  Indians.  My 
answer  has  been,  "  Always  ready  ;  never  send  a  few  men  in  at  a  time  ;  if  the  enemy  show 
fight,  get  all  of  my  men  and  material  into  position,  sound  the  forward,  never  the  retreat  so 
long  as  the  enemy  is  in  sight."  In  this  engagement,  as  at  McClellan  Creek  on  the  8th  of 
November,  1874,  my  wagon-train  charged  in  just  in  rear  of  the  front  line,  a  small  guard 
protecting  its  rear.  You  know  the  result  of  all  my  engagements  with  Indians.  Now  my 
dear  George,  I  consider  this  trip  under  the  circumstances,  the  most  hazardous  and  responsi- 
ble undertaking  of  my  life.  Not  only  was  I  sure  of  encountering  an  enemy  (who  was  the 
least  cause  of  anxiety),  but  in  a  most  treacherous  season,  across  an  unknown  country,  with 
a  command  illy  clothed  even  for  a  campaign  under  the  most  favorable  auspices,  you  can 
well  imagine  that  my  time  —  either  day  or  night  —  was  not  spent  in  sleep.  There  was  not  a 
night  that  I  did  not  visit  my  pickets  and  men  in  their  tents  at  least  once  every  two  hours, 
fearing  that  they  might  freeze  to  death.  Duty  and  loyalty  to  my  country  and  my  com- 
manding officer  were  my  incentives.  From  the  day  I  left  the  Missouri  River  about  the 
only  subsistence  my  animals  had  consisted  of  cottonwood  limbs,  which  were  gathered  and 
placed  before  them  after  arriving  in  camp.  The  night  preceding  the  day  the  general  left 
me  at  the  mouth  of  Squaw  Creek  we  did  not  sleep  for  a  moment  all  night  long,  but  lay 
awake  considering  the  new  movement.  You  know  how  it  was  ! 

Such  were  the  soldierly  instincts  of  Baldwin.  His  qualities  were  of  the 
highest  and  noblest  character.  He  was  one  of  those  men  who  did  not 
come  in  with  a  plausible  excuse  for  failure.  He  always  accomplished  good 
results.  Snyder  was  also  a  good  battalion  commander.  In  fact  all  of  the 
officers  and  soldiers  under  my  command  during  that  remarkable  winter 
campaign  were  noble  and  true  men. 

No  one  can  realize  the  condition  and  circumstances,  or  the  responsibility 
attendant  upon  moving  a  command  in  that  country  in  midwinter.  The 
condition  of  a  ship  in  northern  latitudes  in  a  dense  fog  in  the  track  of  ice- 
bergs, would  be  in  a  somewhat  similar  situation  with  that  of  our 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


231 


command  in  that  severe  climate  in  a  country,  which,  as  General  Sheridan 
described  it  in  his  reports,  was  practically  "unknown."  Indeed  it  was  un- 
known. So  tenaciously  had  those  bands  of  warriors  held  it  that  it  had 
been  impossible  for  white  men  to  explore  it.  Steamers  were  accustomed 
to  go  up  and  down  the  Yellowstone  and  Missouri,  but  the  interior  of  the 
country  had  never  been  explored,  and  nothing  of  its  geography  or  topog- 
raphy was  known.  We  were  provided  with  the  best  official  maps  on  this 
march  between  the  Yellowstone  and  Missouri  Rivers,  a  distance  of  approx- 
imately a  hundred  miles,  but  at  that  time  no  rivers  were  laid  down  on  the 
map,  and  that  part  of  it  was  a  blank.  The  great  valley  of  the  Red  Water 
and  its  numerous  tributaries  were  utterly  unknown. 

In  following  this  trail  of  Sitting  Bull  in  that  march,  the  command  was 
enveloped  in  what  was  known  in  that  country  as  a  "blizzard."  It  has  been 
described  as  the  "  snow  blowing  in  every  direction  at  the  same  moment  of 
time,"  which  is  a  very  good  description  of  a  Montana  blizzard.  People  in 
the  East  are  accustomed  to  storms  of  rain,  thun- 
der, hail  and  snow,  but  these  i 
regarded  as  mere  atmospheric 
compared  with  the  Mon- 
tana blizzard  on  a  high 
divide,  upon  an  open  prai- 
rie, under  what  the  Indi- 
ans  called  the  "cold 
moon,"  or  December,  of 
that  latitude.  The  condi- 
tion of  the  command  when 
enveloped  by  the  blizzard 
on  that  march  was  start- 
ling. It  was  impossible 
to  see  any  object  more  than  twenty  or 
thirty  feet  away  at  midday,  yet  we 
marched  one  whole  day  under  those 
circumstances,  not  on  a  trail,  but  simply  in  the  direction  in  which  we 
believed  the  Indians  to  have  moved.  Our  only  guide  was  the  needle  of  the 
compass.  In  fact  our  movements  were  governed  by  the  compass  all  the 
way  to  the  Missouri,  for  a  hundred  miles  west  after  crossing  the  Missouri, 
and  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  southeast  after  recrossing  that  stream. 

Six  days  is  a  short  time  to  remain  in  cantonment  for  rest,  recuperation 
and  the  replenishing  of  supplies,  but  one  would  suppose  that  the  command 


MONTANA  BLIZZARD. 


232  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

would  be  much  benefited  by  even  that  brief  rest.  Yet  we  found  in  this 
little  semblance  of  civilization  a  more  stealthy,  dangerous  and  deadly 
enemy  than  even  the  savage  Indian  on  the  plain.  And  the  name  of  that 
enemy  can  be  expressed  in  one  brief  word  of  three  small  letters,  r-u-m.  At 
the  cantonment  there  were  two  or  three  traders  that  had  come  up  the 
river  in  the  autumn  with  a  stock  of  goods.  They  had  many  things  for  sale 
that  the  soldiers  required.  Fur  caps,  woolen  underclothing  and  other  use- 
ful articles  were  among  their  stores,  and  at  the  same  time  they  brought 
up  a  stock  of  liquors.  I  tried  to  regulate  this  liquor  traffic  in  different 
ways,  such  as  confining  the  soldiers  to  malted  liquors,  beer  and  wine ;  al- 
lowing only  a  certain  number  of  drinks  in  a  day ;  and  by  various  other 
methods,  but  during  the  short  time  we  spent  in  cantonment  we  always  had 
more  or  less  trouble.  The  effects  upon  the  commands  were  injurious  and 
there  were  disturbances  and  breaches  of  discipline.  When  we  were  out  in 
the  field  where  liquors  were  not  allowed  to  be  carried,  we  had  the  best  dis- 
cipline and  not  the  least  trouble.  During  all  that  service  the  regiment  was 
the  best  disciplined  of  all  the  regiments  in  the  army.  This  is  a  matter 
of  official  record.  There  were  fewer  breaches  of  discipline,  fewer  court- 
martials  and  fewer  desertions,  although  the  men  had  every  opportunity  to 
desert.  Still,  in  spite  of  its  being  the  best  disciplined,  most  orderly  and 
easiest-controlled  regiment  in  the  United  States,  whenever  it  got  back  to 
a  town  or  village  or  military  post  where  the  soldiers  found  themselves  in 
the  vicinity  of  a  saloon,  trouble  was  sure  to  follow. 

Probably  as  many  men  lost  their  lives  by  the  use  of  alcoholic  liquors  as 
were  killed  by  the  Indians.  Several  of  my  men  dropped  dead  in  going 
from  a  saloon  to  the  camp,  but  I  never  knew  until  afterward  that  one  of 
the  traders  had  brought  up  several  barrels  of  what  was  known  as  ''high 
wines."  He  manufactured  his  gin  and  different  drinks  in  a  cellar,  and 
sold  them  at  every  opportunity  to  these  unfortunate  soldiers  under  the 
name  of  "liquors,"  though  they  were  rank  poison. 

This  one  evil  has  resulted  in  more  misery,  crime,  and  death  than  all 
other  causes  combined  in  the  military  posts  of  the  western  frontier,  as 
well  as  in  the  refined  communities  of  civilization.  There  were  three 
traders  at  the  cantonment;  one  an  old  frontiersman,  another  who  had  been 
a  kind  of  contractor,  and  a  third  who  belonged  to  a  good  family  in  the 
East.  This  last  was  the  fellow  who  was  selling  the  concoctions  of  "  high 
wines"  and  drugs. 

On  returning  to  the  cantonment  on  the  Yellowstone  I  again  reorganized 
the  command  for  a  movement  against  Crazy  Horse  and  the  Cheyennes  and 


r«^r — -y~ 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


235 


Ogalallas,  who.  I  had  been  informed,  were  near  the  headwaters  of  the 
Tongue  River,  some  seventy-five  or  eighty  miles  from  our  cantonment. 
They  had  committed  many  depredations  in  the  vicinity  of  our  cantonment, 
stealing  a  good  part  of  what  few  horses  we  had,  and  nearly  all  the  beef 
belonging  to  the  contractor.  These,  however,  were  recaptured,  and  the 
expedition  started  immediately  against  Crazy  Horse's  camp. 

While  these  operations  were  being  carried  on  in  that  section  of  the 
country.  General  Mackenzie  with  his  command  moved  up  from  the  south 
and  had  a  sharp  engagement  with  the  Cheyennes  on  a  tributary  of  the 
Tongue  River  where  he  destroyed  most  of  their  camp,  but  lost  Lieutenant 
McKinney  and  several  men  in  the  engagement.  A  fort  has  since  been 
constructed  near  this  battle  ground  and  named  Fort  McKinney  after  the 
gallant  young  officer  who  lost  his  life  in  that  affair. 


236  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  CHEYENNES  AND  OGALALLAS. 

PREPARATIONS  —  THE   MARCH  —  EXPERIENCES  OP  WINTER  CAMPAIGNING  —  FIRST  ENCOUNTER  — 

THE  BATTLE  —  BIG  CROW  —  BATTLE   IN   A   SNOWSTORM  —  RETREAT  OP  THE  ENEMY  — 

BRUGHIER  THE  SOOUT  —  COMING  IN  OP  THE  INDIANS  —  CONFERENCE  —  A 

SUICIDE  —  ORATION     OF     LITTLE    CHIEF  —  HOSTAGES  —  SITTING 

BULL    DECAMPS  —  FIRST  EXPERIMENTS   IN   FARMING. 

N  moving  up  the  Tongue  River  the  last  of  December,  I  realized 
that  I  would  need  a  strong  command  to  encounter  the  warriors 
of  these  two  tribes,  the  Northern  Cheyennes  and  the  Ogalailas 
under  Crazy  Horse,  and  the  command  was  organized  with  that 
requirement  in  view.  It  consisted  of  four  hundred  and  thirty- 
six  men  of  the  Fifth  and  the  Twenty-second  Infantry,  and 
two  pieces  of  artillery.  These  field  guns  were  concealed  by 
placing  bows  and  spreading  canvas  over  them  as  is  usual  for 
wagon  covers,  and  by  moving  them  with  the  wagon-train  in 
such  a  way  as  to  prevent  them  from  being  noted  as  field  guns  by  the  In- 
dians. 

The  snow  was  then  a  foot  deep  on  a  level,  and  in  many  places  it  proved 
to  be  much  deeper.  The  wagon-trains  and  troops  marched  over  the  ice  in 
the  valley  of  the  Tongue  River,  and  after  considerable  delay  reached  the 
vicinity  of  the  Indian  camp,  having  a  few  skirmishes  on  the  way,  and 
being  somewhat  annoyed  by  the  presence  of  parties  of  the  enemy.  We 
lost  two  of  our  men  who  were  surprised  and  killed  by  a  small  band  of  In- 
dians. The  camp  was  found  to  be  located  on  the  Tongue  River,  extending 
along  that  stream  a  distance  of  three  miles  above  Otter  Creek,  and  as  the 
command  approached  them,  the  Indians  moved  farther  up  the  stream 
toward  the  Big  Horn  Mountains  to  what  they  supposed  to  be  a  safe  dis- 
tance. 

On  January  7,  following,  the  advance  guard  captured  a  small  party  of 
Indians,  including  one  young  warrior,  four  women  and  three  children. 
This  event  afterward  proved  of  considerable  importance,  as  they  were 
relatives  of  some  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the  hostile  camp.  That 
evening  an  attempt  was  made  by  a  band  of  about  three  hundred  warriors 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


237 


to  recapture  them,  which  resulted  in  a  sharp  skirmish  and  the  repulse  of 
the  Indians. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th  the  command  deployed  to  meet  and  attack 
the  main  body  of  warriors,  led  by  Crazy  Horse,  Little  Big  Man,  White  Bull, 
Big  Crow,  Two  Moons,  Hump  and  other  prominent  chiefs  of  the  Cheyennes 
and  Ogalallas.  The  country  was  very  rough — mountainous  in  fact ;  and  as 
the  Indians  moved  down  the  valley  to  encounter  the  troops  they  evidently 
had  every  confidence  of  making  it  another  massacre. 

They    outnumbered     the  nffw//  troops  more  than  two  to  one, 

and    must    have    had    at     ^£       fiiilll^         least    a    thousand  warriors 
on    the  fl^  ^Hi|  field.       From    the    heights 

overlook- 


You  HAVE  HAD  YOUR  LAST  BREAKFAST.' 


ing  the  valley  where  they 
had  stationed  themselves  they  called  out 
to  the  troops,  "  You  have  had  your  last 
breakfast,"  and  similar  expressions   of 
derision  for  the  troops  and  of  confidence 

in  themselves.  Some  of  our  scouts,  particularly  Yellowstone  Kelley,  who 
understood  the  Sioux  and  could  reply  to  them  in  their  own  language,  re- 
sponded with  equal  defiance,  challenging  them  to  the  encounter,  and 
shouting  back  to  them  that  they  were  all  "  women." 

As  the  fight  opened  the  canvas  covers  were  stripped  off  from  the  pieces 
of  artillery,  and  the  two  Napoleon  guns  exploded  shells  within  their  lines, 
creating  great  consternation  and  the  reechoing  of  the  guns  through  the 


238  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

valley,  while  it  gave  the  troops  much  confidence,  undoubtedly  multiplied 
the  number  of  our  guns  in  the  estimation  of  the  Indians  themselves.  At 
one  time  they  had  completely  surrounded  the  command,  but  the  key  of  the 
position  was  a  high  bluff  to  the  left  of  the  line  of  troops,  and  the  sharpest 
lighting  was  for  the  possession  of  this  ground.  The  Indians  who  held  it 
were  led  by  Big  Crow  a  "medicine  man."  who  had  worked  himself  up  to 
such  a  frenzy  that  he  had  made  the  Indians  believe  that  his  medicine  was 
so  strong  that  the  white  men  could  not  harm  him.  He  rushed  out  in  front 
of  the  warriors,  attired  in  the  most  gorgeous  Indian  battle  costume  of  the 
brightest  colors,  and  with  a  headdress  made  of  the  waving  plumes  of  the  eagle 
falling  down  his  back,  jumped  up  and  down, ran  in  a  circle  and  whooped  and 
yelled.  Our  men  turned  their  guns  upon  him.  but  for  several  minutes  he  was 
unharmed,  notwithstanding  their  efforts  to  reach  him  with  their  rifles. 

Then  a  charge  was  made  by  troops  under  Majors  Casey  and  Butler,  and 
Captains  McDonald  and  Baldwin.  It  was  done  with  splendid  courage,  vim 
and  determination,  although  the  men  were  so  encumbered  with  their  heavy 
winter  clothing,  and  the  snow  was  so  deep,  that  it  wras  impossible  to  move 
faster  than  a  slow  walk.  Captain  Baldwin  was  conspicuous  in  this  charge 
for  his  boldness  and  excellent  judgment.  In  the  very  midst  of  his  daring 
acts  of  bravado,  Big  Crow  fell,  pierced  by  a  rifle  shot,  and  his  loss,  together 
with  the  success  of  the  charge  that  had  been  made  and  the  important 
ground  gained,  seemed  to  cause  a  panic  among  the  Indians,  and  they  im- 
mediately fled  in  utter  rout  up  the  valley  down  which  they  had  come  a 
few  hours  before  with  such  confidence. 

The  latter  part  of  the  engagement  occurred  during  a  snowstorm,  which 
added  an  inexpressible  weirdness  to  the  scene.  I  think  every  officer  and 
soldier  realized  the  desperate  nature  of  this  encounter,  the  command  being 
then  between  three  and  four  hundred  miles  from  any  railroad  or  settlement. 
If  they  had  met  with  disaster  it  would  have  been  many  weeks  before  any 
relieving  command  could  have  reached  the  ground  from  the  nearest  possi- 
ble source  of  aid.  Every  officer  and  soldier  knew  that  a  mistake  meant 
disaster,  and  disaster  or  defeat  meant  annihilation,  and  were  therefore  in- 
spired to  deeds  of  heroism  and  fortitude  and  a  corresponding  confidence. 
The  fighting  that  occurred  on  the  left  of  the  line,  as  already  described,  was 
for  a  time  very  close  and  desperate.  The  backs  of  those  retreating  war- 
riors presented  the  most  delightful  picture,  as  it  then  seemed  to  us,  that  it 
was  ever  our  fortune  to  see  on  the  opening  of  a  new  year. 

While  the  engagement  was  not  of  such  a  serious  character  as  to  cause 
great  loss  of  life  on  either  side,  yet  it  demonstrated  the  fact  that  we  could 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


•239 


move  in  any  part  of  the  country  in  the  midst  of  winter,  and  hunt  the 
enemy  down  in  their  camps  wherever  they  might  take  refuge.  In  this 
way,  constantly  pursuing  them,  we  had  made  them  realize  that  there  was  no 
peace  or  safety  for  them  while  they  remained  in  a  hostile  attitude.  After 
accomplishing  what  we  had  set  out  for,  we  returned  to  the  cantonment  on 
the  Yellowstone,  bringing  with  us  the  captives  before  mentioned.  These 
were  placed  under  a  strong  guard  and  properly  protected.  They  were 
kindly  treated,  well  fed  and  well  clothed. 

Their  capture  proved  to  be  an  important  affair,  as  remarked,  in  afford- 
ing a  means  of  communication  with  the  hostile  camps.     I  sent  Scout  John 


Brughier  with  two  of  the 

ing  the  terms  upon  which 

cepted,   namely,  uncondi- 

compliance  with  such  or- 

from  the  higher 

the  same  time 

that  in  case  of 

ance  the  troops 

against     them. 

formed     this 

and   dangerous 

as    subsequent 

similar  nature, 

and     courage. 

long    journey 

deep  snow,  he 

hostiles    had 

retreat     from 

of  January  8,  as 

base  of  the  Big  Horn  Mountains,  and  had  camped  on  the  Little  Horn,  a 

tributary  of  the  Little  Big  Horn. 

This  was  a  very  daring  expedition  for  Brughier  to  undertake,  and  he 
did  not  attempt  it  without  serious  doubts  as  to  his  being  able  to  get  into 
their  camp.  He  believed  that  if  he  was  once  there,  he  would  find 
some  of  his  friends  who  would  protect  him;  but  what  he  feared  was 
being  killed  as  he  approached  the  camp.  However,  he  succeeded  in 
reaching  there  safely,  and  found  the  Indians  encamped  in  the  deep  snow 
and  suffering  greatly  from  the  cold,  while  their  horses  were  dying  from 
exposure. 


JOHN  Bnr(iiiiEK,  SCOIT. 


captives,  February  1.  offer- 
a  surrender  would  be  ac- 
tional,  with  subsequent 
ders  as  should  be  received 
authorities,  at 
informingthem 
a  noncompli- 
would  move 
Brughier  per- 
most  valuable 
service,  as  well 
services  of  a 
with  great  skill 
Making  the 
through  very 
found  that  the 
continued  their 
the  battlefield 
far  as  to  the 


240  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

The  return  of  the  Indians  who  accompanied  him  was  a  great  surprise 
to  their  friends  and  relatives.  The  fact  that  they  had  been  humanely  and 
properly  treated  in  a  large  camp  of  soldiers  with  whom  they  had  been  in 
hostile  relations  was  something  not  counted  on,  and  was  a  surprise  to  the 
savages,  making  a  very  favorable  impression  upon  them.  They  were  dis- 
posed to  consider  kindly  the  demand  for  their  surrender.  The  captives 
themselves  acted  as  messengers  of  peace,  and  were  very  active  in  assuring 
their  hostile  brethren  that  the  Indians,  who  were  still  in  our  hands,  had 
been  equally  well  treated,  and  urged  their  people  to  accept  the  terms  of 
the  government  and  put  themselves  under  its  control. 

The  result  was  that  Brughier's  mission  was  so  successfully  accomplished 
that  on  February  1 9,  he  returned  with  nineteen  Indians,  mainly  chiefs  and 
leading  warriors,  who  desired  to  know  the  exact  conditions  upon  which 
they  could  surrender.  The  terms  as  above  given  were  repeated ;  and  in 
various  councils  and  frank  and  free  communications  a  feeling  of 
confidence  and  good  faith  was  engendered,  which  has  never  been  dis- 
turbed so  far  as  relates  to  the  Indians  who  subsequently  surrendered 
there. 

The  Indians  in  council  were  treated  with  firmness,  but  also  with  kind- 
ness, and  given  to  understand  that  if  they  would  surrender  they  would  re- 
ceive just  treatment,  but  if  they  would  not,  the  harshest  measures  of  war 
would  be  resumed  against  them.  They  returned  to  their  camp  with  ap- 
parently good  impressions  and  good  intentions. 

Almost  immediately  after  their  departure  a  singular  tragedy  occurred 
in  the  little  band  of  Indian  prisoners  held  in  our  hands.  One  morning  soon 
after  sunrise  a  sharp  pistol  shot  was  heard  in  one  of  their  tents,  and  the  officer 
of  the  day  and  one  of  the  guard  went  to  ascertain  the  cause.  He  found 
that  a  young  and  handsome  Indian  woman  of  about  twenty-two  years  of 
age  had  committed  suicide.  Much  to  his  astonishment  he  found  that  all 
that  time  she  had  kept  secreted  about  her  person  the  little  pocket  pistol 
with  which  she  had  finally  taken  her  life.  On  making  inquiries  through 
the  interpreter  it  was  found  that  she  had  a  lover  in  the  Indian  camp  to 
whom  she  was  most  devotedly  attached,  and  the  fact  that  he  had  not  ac- 
companied the  delegation  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  her,  if  for  no  other,  so 
preyed  upon  her  mind  that  she  became  heart-broken  at  the  thought  that 
he  had  cared  so  little  for  her.  She  had  made  inquiries  concerning  him  of 
the  warriors  who  had  come  in,  and  they  had  told  her  that  he  was  indiffer- 
ent to  her,  so  believing  that  her  love  was  not  reciprocated  she  had  taken 
her  own  life. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  241 

The  fact,  as  we  afterward  ascertained,  was  that  this  young  man  was 
out  hunting  buffaloes  at  the  time  the  party  was  induced  to  start  for  our 
camp,  and  did  not  know  of  their  coming  until  it  was  too  late.  She  was 
buried  near  the  cantonment,  and,  when  her  relatives  finally  came  in  and 
surrendered,  a  strange  and  tragic  scene  was  enacted.  Her  nearest  relatives 
gathered  about  the  grave  moaning  and  bewailing  her  loss,  and  several  of 
them  took  their  knives  and  slashed  their  faces  and  persons  until  they  were 
covered  with  blood.  The  women  were  especially  demonstrative,  falling 
upon  each  other's  necks  and  weeping,  while  the  male  Indians  maintained 
their  accustomed  stoical  silence  and  dignity.  One  was  noticed  to  pick  up 
a  little  child  and  hold  it  in  his  arms  during  the  scene  of  mourning,  but 
upon  his  face  you  could  discern  no  more  emotion  than  upon  that  of  a  bronze 
statue,  although  the  officers  and  soldiers  were  greatly  moved  by  the 
sight. 

While  these  measures  were  being  taken  to  persuade  the  Indians  to  sur- 
render, the  most  active  efforts  were  being  made  at  the  cantonment  to 
equip  the  command  for  another  expedition  if  it  should  be  necessary,  though 
it  certainly  was  not  desired  by  anyone  in  the  command.  If  it  could  be 
avoided,  we  did  not  care  to  again  encounter  tin  large  bodies  of  hostile  In- 
dians on  their  own  familiar  ground,  or  endure  the  severity  of  that  terrible 
climate. 

On  the  return  of  the  nineteen  chiefs  their  runners  and  criers  went 
through  the  camp  announcing  that  the  war  was  over,  and  the  camp  im- 
mediately commenced  to  move  in  the  direction  of  our  cantonment,  passing 
over  the  divide  from  the  Little  Big  Horn  across  to  Tongue  River,  and  down 
that  stream  to  the  mouth  of  Otter  Creek.  There  they  were  met  by  runnel's 
from  Spotted  Tail,  the  principal  chief  of  the  peaceful  Sioux,  offering  more 
favorable  terms  than  had  been  given  by  me,  and  including  the  right  to 
retain  their  guns  and  ponies,  and  to  obtain  ammunition.  The  main  body 
of  the  Indians  then  halted  and  went  into  camp,  and  a  larger  delegation  of 
the  leading  chiefs  and  warriors  came  in  to  find  whether  like  terms  could 
be  obtained  from  me. 

Another  council  was  held,  and  I  heard  their  statements  and  their  wishes 
in  regard  to  better  terms,  but  all  I  could  do  was  to  announce  to  them  the 
desire  of  the  government  to  maintain  peace  in  that  region,  and  that  the 
troops  would  be  used  constantly  and  incessantly  until  the  wished-for  results 
were  accomplished.  I  informed  them  that  it  was  my  earnest  wish  to  be 
their  friend,  rather  than  their  enemy,  but  that  I  must  continue  to  be  their 
enemy  until  they  placed  themselves  in  subjection  to  the  government.  My 


242 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


intention  was  to  impress  upon  them  the  power  of  the  government,  and  at 
the  same  time  its  purpose  to  treat  them  justly  and  humanely. 

At  the  close  of  my  remarks  the  entire  body  of  Indians,,  more  than  a 
hundred  in  number,  remained  in  absolute  silence  for  several  minutes, 
which  reminded  me  of  a  statement  I  had  read,  written  by  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin more  than  a  hundred  years  before;  and  if  this  silence  was  a  mark  of 
civility  it  was  the  cause  of  the  most  painful  anxiety  on  my  part  as  the 
moments  went  slowly  by.  At  last  a  stalwart  Indian  by  the  name  of  Little 
Chief  rose.  Throwing  back  his  buffalo  robe  from  his  shoulders,  and  letting 


SURRENDER  OF  LITTLE  CHIKP. 


all  the  covering  he  had  on  down  to  his  waist  fall  gracefully  about  his  loins 
to  his  feet,  he  looked  an  ideal  chief,  standing  over  six  feet  in  height,  and 
being  slender,  sinewy  and  muscular.  His  features  were  prominent, 
sharp  and  regular;  his  cheekbones  were  high,  and  his  lips  thin  and  severe; 
and  he  looked,  as  we  afterward  learned  that  he  was,  the  orator  of  the 
Northern  Cheyennes.  The  scars  of  the  sun-dance  were  very  prominent  on 
his  upper  arms  and  breast,  and  dignity  and  grace  marked  his  every  move- 
ment and  gesture. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  243 

He  commenced  by  proclaiming  that  he  was  a  chief  as  his  fathers  had 
been  before  him  for  many  generations ;  that  they  had  lived  in  that  country 
from  time  immemorial  and  regarded  it  as  their  own,  and  that  they  looked 
upon  us  as  invaders.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks  he  gave  the  Indian  side 
of  the  great  question,  proclaiming  that  they  had  been  wronged,  and  that 
the  whites  were  the  aggressors.  He  finally  came  to  the  point  in  which  I 
was  most  interested.  He  said  : 

"  We  are  weak,  compared  with  you  and  your  forces  ;  we  are  out  of  ammunition  ;  we 
cannot  make  a  rifle,  a  round  of  ammunition,  or  a  knife  ;  in  fact  we  are  at  the  mercy  of  those 
who  are  taking  possession  of  our  country  ;  your  terms  are  harsh  and  cruel,  but  we  are  go- 
ing to  accept  them  and  place  ourselves  at  your  mercy." 

Of  all  the  eloquent  words  I  have  ever  listened  to,  these  were  the  most 
delightful  to  me,  and  they  sent  a  thrill  of  joy  through  my  heart  as  I  real- 
ized that  our  work  had  been  accomplished,  and  our  toils  and  sacrifices 
were  at  an  end.  Little  Chief  concluded  by  saying  that  some  of  their 
number  would  go  down  and  surrender  at  the  agencies  where  their  relatives 
were,  while  others  desired  to  surrender  to  the  military  and  remain  on  th« 
Yellowstone. 

They  were  told  that  if  they  so  desired  a  few  of  their  number  could  be 
sent  to  Washington.  This  offer  was  declined,  one  prominent  chief  saying 
that  he  had  been  to  Washington  once,  and  had  been  shown  a  map  and 
been  told  that  a  large  part  of  the  country  must  be  occupied  by  white  men 
and  that  the  Indians  must  keep  off  from  it;  but  over  in  one  little  corner 
of  the  map  a  place  was  reserved  as  Indian  land,  where  the  Indians  were  to 
live  and  the  white  people  were  to  keep  off  from  it;  but  the  men  that  told  him 
that  lied,  for  the  white  men  did  not  keep  off  of  it.  "You  have  not  lied 
yet,"  he  continued,  "and  I  am  going  to  try  you  and  am  coming  in  here. 
I  am  going  to  surrender  to  you. " 

Little  Hawk,  the  uncle  of  Crazy  Horse,  and  others,  guaranteed  to  take 
him  and  the  entire  camp  to  the  lower  agencies  and  surrender  there,  or 
else  bring  them  in  and  make  them  surrender  at  our  cantonment.  As  a 
pledge  of  their  good  faith  they  agreed  to  leave  prominent  men  as  hostages 
in  the  hands  of  the  military,  and  to  this  end,  White  Bull,  or  The  Ice,  as  he 
was  sometimes  called,  the  head  chief  of  the  Northern  Cheyennes,  rose  in 
his  place  and  said  he  would  remain  as  hostage  for  the  good  faith  of  the 
Northern  Cheyennes.  Hump,  head  warrior  of  the  Ogalallas,  to  which  band 
Crazy  Horse  belonged,  rose  and  said  he  would  remain  as  hostage  for  the 
tribe  of  Ogalallas.  These  were  followed  by  seven  prominent  men  and 
warriors,  until  they  were  checked  by  my  saying  that  we  required  no  more; 


244 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


that  I  believed  they  were  acting  in  good  faith  and  intended  to  do  as  they 
promised. 

These  prominent  hostages  remained  in  camp  under  close  military  sur- 
veillance, and  the  large  delegation  left  immediately  for  their  camp,  then  be- 
tween the  Tongue  and  Powder  Rivers.  The  result  was  that  more  than 
three  hundred  followers  of  Two  Moons,  White  Bull,  Hump,  Horse  Road 
and  others,  surrendered  on  April  22,  and  the  larger  part  of  the  remain- 
ing camp,  numbering  more  than  two  thousand  persons,  led  by  Crazy  Horse, 

Little  Big  Man,  The  Rock  and  others, 
moved  south  and  surrendered  at  Red 
Cloud,  Spotted  Tail  and  other  agen- 
cies. 

In  the  meantime  Sitting  Bull  had 
gathered  his  camp  south  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone and  when  Crazy  Horse's  fol- 
lowing decided  to  place  themselves 
under  subjection  to  the  government, 
he,  in  order  to  avoid  surrendering  and 
to  escape  further  pursuit,  retreated  to 
the  northern  boundary  and  sought 
refuge  on  Canadian  soil.  His  follow- 
ing was  then  in  a  very  destitute  con- 
dition, almost  entirely  out  of  ammu- 
nition, having  lost  nearly  everything 
except  their  guns  and  ponies.  They 
remained  on  British  territory  for  two 
years,  when  they  finally  all  returned 
and  surrendered. 

There  was  one  camp,  however,  with  nearly  sixty  lodges,  chiefly  Minne- 
conjoux  under  Lame  Deer,  who  declared  that  they  would  never  surrender, 
and  would  roam  where  they  pleased,  and  that  they  were  going  over  to  the 
Rosebud  to  hunt  buff  aloes,  and  they  actually  did  start  westward  for  that  pur- 
pose. Lame  Deer  had  been  told  through  an  interpreter  that  unless  he  sur- 
rendered, the  troops  would  come  out  after  him  and  bring  him  in.  He  de- 
clared that  he  had  good  scouts  and  that  no  white  man  could  get  near  his 
camp  or  capture  his  people. 

When  the  Indians  came  in  they  were  required  to  give  up  their  war 
ponies  and  arms,  and  these  ponies  were  sold  and  the  proceeds  used  in 
purchasing  a  herd  of  cattle  which  was  divided  and  given  to  the  different 


WHITE  BI-I.L  AND  HORSE  ROAD. 


I// 


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I 

UJ 
CC 
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a: 
a. 

UJ 

I 
I- 

C3 

Z 
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Q 

z 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


•247 


Indian  families.  The  Indians  were  fed  on  the  soldier's  rations  until 
spring,  when  they  were  told  that  it  was  the  custom  of  the  white  people 
to  plant  fields  of  grain  and  raise  food  for  their  own  sustenance.  Many 
of  the  Indians  had  never  before  been  to  an  Indian  agency,  and  knew  abso- 
lutely nothing  of  the  art  of  agriculture.  When  told  that  the  white  men 
made  gardens,  and  that  it  was  a  good  example  for  them,  they  cheerfully 
acquiesced,  and  one  man,  White  Bull,  said  he  wanted  to  plant  a  garden  of 
raisins.  On  inquiring  the  reason  for  this  desire  he  replied  that  the  best 
food  that  the  white  man  had,  so  far  as  he  had  been  able  to  find  out,  was 
raisins,  so  he  wanted  to  plant  his  garden  with  them. 

The  army  teams  were  used  in  breaking  the  turf  and  cultivating  the 
ground,  and  the  Indians  all  went  to  work  in  good  spirits.  During  the  sev- 
eral years  that  they  remained  there  they  were  largely  self-supporting,  in- 
dustrious and  happy.  When  they  first  came  in  they  were  perfectly  wild, 
some  of  them  never  having  seen  white  people  before,  yet  in  their  wild  con- 
dition they  were  strong  and  healthy,  and  the  surgeon  in  charge  of  the 
camp  reported  that  there  was  not  a  case  of  contagious  disease  among  them. 


248  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
THE  LAME  DEER  EXPEDITION. 

COMPOSITION  op  THE  COMMAND  —  BEGINNING   THE   MARCH  —  WEATHER  —  SHARP  INDIAN  EYES  — 
APPROACHING  THE  CAMP  —  THE  ATTACK  —  A  CLOSE  CALL  —  LOSSES  —  THE  RETURN  — 
MOUNTING  THE  INFANTRY  —  A  CIRCUS  WITH  INDIAN  HORSES  —  FOLLOWING  THE  RE- 
TREATING INDIANS  —  WINTER  IN  THE  NORTHWEST  —  QUEER  PECULIARITIES 
OF  INDIAN  FEET — FINE  SPECIMENS  OP  THE  RACE  —  VISIT  op 
GENERAL  SHERMAN  —  REPORT  op  GENERAL  SHERIDAN. 

T  the  same  time  as  we  were  making  these  dispositions  of  the 
surrendered,  a  command  was  being  equipped  to  teach  Lame 
Deer  and  his  band  that,  contrary  to  his  opinion,  the  white  men 
could  approach  his  village. 

After  their  people  had  surrendered  and  confidence  had  been 
restored,  it  was  explained  to  White  Bull,  The  Ice,  Brave  Wolf, 
Hump  and  others  who  had  acted  as  hostages  at  the  cantonment, 
now  Fort  Keogh,  that  it  was  very  important  that  the  only  hostile 
camp  left  in  the  country  should  be  brought  in.  They  acquiesced  fully, 
and  in  fact  seemed  much  incensed  because  Lame  Deer  had  stayed  out, 
knowing  that  his  depredations  would  be  charged  to  their  people  who  were 
disposed  to  remain  at  peace.  When  the  command  was  ready  to  move, 
May  2, 1877,  three  of  these  men  were  taken  along  as  guides,  as  they  were 
well  acquainted  with  the  habits  and  haunts  of  those  who  were  still 
hostile. 

Four  troops  of  the  Second  Cavalry  had  been  sent  to  report  to  me.  With 
this  command,  and  two  companies  of  the  Fifth  Infantry  and  four  of  the 
Twenty-second  Infantry,  I  started  up  Tongue  River  on  the  5th  of  May,  and 
after  a  march  of  sixty-three  miles  from  the  Yellowstone  I  crossed  the  trail 
of  Lame  Deer's  camp  where  he  had  moved  west  toward  the  Rosebud  about 
the  middle  of  April.  Foreseeing  that  some  of  their  men  would  be  watch- 
ing our  command,  we  passed  on  as  if  apparently  not  seeking  their  camp,  or 
noticing  their  trail.  After  a  short  march  beyond  the  trail,  the  command 
went  into  camp  apparently  for  the  night,  on  the  Tongue  River.  Then  after 
dark,  leaving  our  wagon-train  with  an  escort  of  three  infantry  companies, 
we  marched  directly  west  under  cover  of  the  darkness  with  the  remainder 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  249 

of  the  command,  as  straight  across  the  country  as  it  was  possible  to 
move  a  body  of  mounted  troops. 

Although  it  rained  during  a  part  of  the  night  we  marched  as  rapidly  as 
was  possible  in  a  country  of  that  broken  character,  a  distance  of  some 
thirty  miles  to  a  high  divide  between  the  Rosebud  and  Big  Horn,  known  as 
a  spur  of  the  Wolf  Mountains.  Here  I  concealed  the  command  in  a  pocket 
of  the  mountains — a  term  used  for  describing  a  short  valley  surrounded  on 
all  sides  except  the  entrance  by  high  bluffs  or  ridges.  As  soon  as  daylight 
appeared  a  few  soldiers  and  scouts  were  sent  out  to  carefully  reconnoitre 
the  country.  They  found  that  the  camp  of  Lame  Deer  had  passed  only  a 
few  days  before.  Both  the  white  scouts  and  the  Indians  displayed  great 
skill  and  caution  in  discovering  the  traces  of  the  hostile  camp  and  conceal- 
ing their  own  movements,  and  from  the  top  of  a  high  peak  they  discovered 
the  Indian  village  some  fifteen  miles  away  in  an  air  line. 

Here  we  had  an  exhibition  of  the  sharpness  of  the  eyes  of  the  Indians, 
accustomed  to  hunting  game.  When  first  seen  the  camp  was  not  recognized 
by  the  white  men,  but  the  Indians  declared  that  they  could  see  the  smoke 
over  the  village.  To  me  it  looked  like  mist  or  a  white  cloud  against  the 
side  of  the  mountain  until  I  examined  it  more  carefully  with  a  glass.  The 
Indians  also  announced  that  they  could  see  ponies  grazing  on  the  hills. 
This  was  discovered  to  be  correct  by  their  companions,  but  not  without 
using  their  field  glasses. 

How  to  get  to  this  camp  was  the  next  question.  It  was  impossible  to 
approach  it  during  the  daytime,  so  the  command  was  concealed  until  night 
and  then  moved  a  short  distance  up  one  ravine  and  down  another,  all  the 
time  keeping  under  cover  of  the  hills  so  as  not  to  be  discovered.  In  that 
way  we  approached  a  point  within  eight  miles  of  the  village,  where  we  re- 
mained until  one  o'clock  the  next  morning.  Then  we  started  again  and 
moved  slowly  to  the  valley  of  the  Rosebud,  then  up  that  valley  for 
two  or  three  miles,  and  at  four  o'clock,  May  7,  just  at  the  dawn  of  day,  we 
found  ourselves  in  close  proximity  to  the  Indian  village. 

In  striking  contrast  to  former  campaigns,  at  this  time  the  prairies  were 
covered  with  green  grass,  the  trees  were  in  full  foliage,  the  air  was  filled 
with  the  odor  of  flowers,  and  the  birds  were  singing.  If  we  had  been  go- 
ing to  some  peaceful  festival,  the  scene  could  not  have  been  more  propitious. 

The  dismounted  troops  were  unable  to  follow  at  the  rapid  pace  that  the 
mounted  command  found  necessary  in  order  to  enable  them  to  reach  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  Indians  just  at  dawn,  or  as  near  that  time  as 
possible.  The  camp  was  on  a  tributary  of  the  Rosebud  known  to  the  white 

M— 15 


250  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

men  as  the  Big  Muddy,  but  called  by  the  Indians  "Fat  Horse  Creek."  They 
had  given  it  this  name  because  in  spring  the  grass  there  was  so  abundant 
and  rich  that  their  horses  feeding  upon  it  always  grew  strong  and  fat. 

The  mounted  infantry  and  scouts  under  Lieutenants  Casey  and  Jerome 
were  ordered  to  charge  directly  up  the  valley  and  stampede  the  Indian 
horses,  while  the  battalion  of  cavalry  followed  at  a  gallop  and  attacked  the 
camp.  This  attack  was  gallantly  made.  The  command  under  Lieutenants 
Casey  and  Jerome  stampeded  the  entire  herd  of  ponies,  horses  and  mules, 
four  hundred  and  fifty  in  number,  and  drove  them  five  miles  up  the  valley, 
where  they  rounded  them  up  and  by  a  long  circuit  brought  them  around 
to  the  rear  of  the  command  which  was  engaging  the  Indians. 

When  attacked,  the  Indians  fled  from  their  camp,  taking  only  what 
they  carried  in  their  hands,  up  among  the  high  bluffs  and  rugged  hills  in 
that  vicinity. 

Our  loss  was  four  soldiers  killed,  one  officer  and  six  soldiers  wounded. 
There  were  fourteen  Indian  warriors  killed  and  many  wounded. 

In  the  surprise  and  excitement  of  the  wild  onset  of  the  charge,  a  group 
of  warriors  was  forced  away  from  the  others  and  became  separated  from 
the  rest  of  the  tribe.  Before  making  the  attack  I  had  ordered  our  Sioux 
and  Cheyenne  Indians  to  call  out  to  the  Lame  Deer  Indians  that  if  they 
threw  down  their  arms  and  surrendered  we  would  spare  their  lives.  I  was 
anxious  to  capture  some  of  them  alive,  as  we  hoped  thereby  to  secure  the 
surrender  of  all  the  Indians  in  the  camp.  As  we  galloped  up  to  this 
group  of  warriors  they  apparently  recognized  the  purport  of  the  demand 
and  dropped  their  arms  upon  the  ground.  In  order  to  assure  them  of  our 
goodwill,  I  called  out  "How-how-kola"  (meaning  friend)  and  extended  my 
hand  to  the  Chief,  Lame  Deer,  which  he  grasped,  and  in  a  few  seconds  more 
I  would  have  secured  him  and  the  others,  as,  although  he  was  wild  and 
trembling  with  excitement,  my  adjutant,  George  W.  Baird,  was  doing  the 
same  with  the  head  warrior,  Iron  Star.  Unfortunately  just  at  that  time 
one  of  our  white  scouts  rode  up  and  joined  the  group  of  officers  and  sol- 
diers with  me.  He  had  more  enthusiasm  than  discretion,  and  I  presume 
desired  to  insure  my  safety,  as  he  drew  up  his  rifle  and  covered  the  Indian 
with  it.  Lame  Deer  saw  this  and  evidently  thought  the  young  scout 
was  going  to  shoot  him.  I  know  of  no  other  motive  for  his  subsequent 
act  than  the  belief  that  he  was  to  be  killed  whether  he  surrendered  or  not. 
As  quick  as  thought,  with  one  desperate,  powerful  effort,  he  wrenched  his 
hand  from  mine,  although  I  tried  to  hold  it,  and  grasped  his  rifle  from  the 
ground,  ran  backward  a  few  steps,  raised  his  rifle  to  his  eye  and  fired. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


•251 


Seeing  his  determined  face,  his  set  jaw,  wild  eye,  and  the  open  muzzle  of  his 
rifle,  I  realized  my  danger  and  instantly  whirled  my  horse  from  him,  and 
in  this  quick  movement  the  horse  slightly  settled  back  upon  his  haunches  ; 
at  that  moment  the  rifle  flashed  within  ten  feet  of  me,  the  bullet  whizzed 
past  my  breast,  leaving  me  unharmed  but  unfortunately  killing  a  brave  sol- 
dier near  my  side.  Iron  Star  broke  away  from  Adjutant  Baird  at  the  same 
time.  This  instantly  ended  all  efforts  to  secure  their  peaceful  surrender  and 
opened  a  hot  fight  that  lasted  but  a  few  seconds.  A  dozen  rifles  and  re- 


LAME  DEKR  FIRING  AT  GENERAL  MII.HS. 

volvers  were  opened  on  the  scattered  warriors  who  were  fighting  us,  and 
all  went  down  quickly  beneath  the  accurate,  close  and  deadly  fire.  The 
whole  incident  was  over  in  a  much  less  time  than  it  takes  to  describe  it. 

The  main  object  of  our  expedition  being  now  accomplished,  and  not 
desiring  to  risk  more  lives  in  an  encounter  than  the  circumstances  abso- 
lutely demanded,  we  turned  back  and  bivouacked  at  Lame  Deer's  camp, 
which  was  one  of  the  richest  I  had  ever  seen.  It  was  composed  of  fifty- 
one  beautiful  lodges,  richly  stored  with  robes,  horse-equipments,  and  every 
other  species  of  Indian  property.  Whatever  was  desired  by  the  troops  was 


252  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

taken  possession  of  and  the  remainder  burned.  The  herd  of  horses  were 
round,  fat,  sleek  and  in  excellent  condition. 

During  the  engagement,  Majors  Dickey  and  Poole,  Twenty-second 
United  States  Infantry,  came  up  with  their  command,  having  moved  to  the 
sound  of  the  guns  in  a  forced  march.  On  the  morning  following  commenced 
the  greatest  circus  I  have  ever  witnessed.  Two  hundred  of  the  war  and 
buffalo  ponies  were  selected  with  which  to  mount  our  foot-troops.  The 
Fifth  Infantry  was  afterward  completely  equipped  in  this  way,  and  on  the 
frontier  was  sometimes  known  as  the  Eleventh  Cavalry,  there  being  then 
ten  cavalry  regiments  in  the  army  organization.  Among  the  herd  were 
some  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry  horses  that  had  been  captured  at  the  Big  Horn 
massacre ;  and  those  having  the  brand  "  7th  U.  S."  were  quickly  secured  by 
the  infantry  soldiers  who  were  not  regarded  as  altogether  expert  horsemen. 

Then  came  the  problem  of  selecting  the  gentle  and  trained  ponies  from 
the  vicious  brutes.  The  soldiers  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  select  well- 
trained  buffalo  or  war  ponies  congratulated  themselves  in  being  able  to 
put  Indian  bridles  and  saddles  upon  them,  but  even  then  they  were  not  safe 
in  mounting.  Frequently  it  required  the  aid  of  two  men  to  get  one  into 
the  saddle.  The  ponies  seemed  as  suspicious  of  the  white  man  as  the 
American  horse  is  of  the  wild  Indian. 

Still,  many  of  the  men  succeeded  in  mounting,  and  in  place  of  spurs 
used  the  Indian  "quirt,"  a  stick  about  a  foot  long  with  a  rawhide  lash. 
These  men  were  highly  elated  and  their  derisive  remarks  to  their  more 
unfortunate  comrades  were  equal  to  the  best  witticisms  I  have  ever  heard 
on  the  stump  or  under  canvas.  Some  of  the  ponies  would  not  allow  a  white 
man  to  go  near  them ;  others  as  fast  as  the  scouts  or  Indians  could  rope 
them  would  submit  to  being  bridled  and  saddled,  in  fact  would  look  meek 
and  calm,  waiting  for  a  good  opportunity.  With  the  help  of  one  or  two 
men  the  infantryman  would  mount,  or  at  least  reach  his  place  above  the 
saddle  and  beast  for  the  time  being,  whereupon  the  pony  would  double  up 
like  a  ball,  make  a  bound  into  the  air,  coming  down  stiff-legged,  jump 
about  over  the  prairie,  and  repeat  this  exercise  with  lightening  rapidity, 
in  almost  every  direction  at  the  same  time ;  then  the  soldier's  hat  would 
fall,  and  before  many  minutes  he  would  follow  suit,  and  frequently  the 
pony  would  not  stop  until  he  had  freed  himself  from  the  saddle ;  or, 
sometimes  he  would  gallop  around  over  the  prairie  and  come  back  to  the 
herd  with  the  saddle  underneath. 

Two  hundred  soldiers  on  the  same  field  endeavoring  to  subdue  the  same 
number  of  wild  horses  created  a  scene  of  excitement  which  was  not  only 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  253 

humorous  but  also  somewhat  dangerous.  Fortunately  they  did  not  have 
far  to  fall  and  the  ground  was  covered  with  a  heavy  crop  of  green  grass. 
This  scene  continued  until  the  command  was  completely  mounted,  and  the 
ponies  and  infantry  had  become  better  acquainted,  and  by  that  time  we 
were  ready  to  take  up  our  return  march  back  to  the  cantonment. 

As  soon  as  the  herd  was  brought  back  and  secured,  another  expedition 
was  sent  out  to  follow  up  the  retreating  Indians  and  to  scour  the  country 
for  detached  parties  or  bands.  This  plan  was  carried  out  most  effectively 
by  commands  under  Captain  Ball  and  Major  Lazelle  ;  and  later  by  Major 
Brisbin  and  Captain  Snyder,  who  reconnoitred  and  cleared  the  entire  coun- 
try of  the  Yellowstone.  This  course  was  continued  during  the  months  of 
June,  July  and  August,  the  Indians  in  scattering  bands  retreating  as  rapid- 
ly as  possible  toward  their  agencies,  where  they  commenced  to  surrender  in 
July,  the  last  going  in  between  the  5th  and  10th  of  September, 
and  causing  us  to  believe  that  that  region  of  country  was  cleared  for 
all  time  of  the  hostile  presence  and  depredations  of  the  Sioux  Indians. 

While  winter  in  this  part  of  the  country  is  severe,  and  the  snowfall  is 
occasionally  very  deep,  yet  the  extreme  cold  is  usually  of  short  duration, 
and  as  a  general  thing  spring  opens  early.  In  fact,  in  western  Montana 
snow  remains  upon  the  ground  but  a  very  short  time.  The  western  winds, 
" chinook  winds"  as  they  are  called,  coming  from  the  coast  of  Oregon  and 
Washington,  sweeping  through  the  passes  of  the  mountains  and  over  the 
territory  of  Montana,  temper  the  climate  to  a  remarkable  degree.  These 
warm  western  winds  sometimes  absorb  nearly  a  foot  of  snow  in  a  single 
twenty-four  hours  or  at  most  within  the  space  of  two  days.  The  grasses 
are  so  strong  that  as  soon  as  the  snow  disappears  they  begin  to  spring 
up.  In  some  of  the  warm  valleys  green  life  seems  to  remain  near  the  roots 
of  the  grass  that  is  protected  by  snow. 

When  we  went  up  Tongue  River  the  snow  was  a  foot  deep  and  the 
river  frozen  over. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  savage  can  accustom  himself  to  going 
on  the  ice  with  his  bare  feet.  In  that  country  the  Indian  foot,  as  I  know 
from  personal  observation,  is  covered  with  a  skin  very  similar  to  that 
which  covers  a  duck's  foot.  In  following  the  trail  of  an  Indian  at  one 
time,  we  noticed  that  he  was  without  moccasins  though  he  had  gone  into 
the  water  and  out  on  the  ice.  The  foot  of  one  of  the  little  children  in 
the  camp  at  the  cantonment,  which  I  had  occasion  to  examine,  was 
just  like  the  bottom  of  a  duck's  foot.  I  actually  saw  that  child  sliding 
on  the  ice  with  bare  feet  before  its  mother's  door.  Lieutenant  Baird,  my 


254  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

adjutant  at  that  time,  called  my  attention  to  it.  I  am  told  that  in  Wash- 
ington Territory  the  Indians  in  early  times  never  wore  moccasins  because 
only  with  their  bare  feet  could  they  move  over  the  fallen  timber  easily, 
that  country  being  greatly  encumbered  in  that  way.  The  same  thing  is 
also  told  of  the  Indians  in  Alaska. 

The  climate  and  country  of  Montana  and  the  Dakotas  produced  as  fine 
physical  specimens  of  the  human  race  as  have  ever  been  found  on  this 
continent.  They  were  tall,  fine  specimens  of  the  Indian  type,  and  were 
brave,  dignified  and  stalwart,  possessing  many  manly  qualities.  In  diplo- 
macy they  were  sagacious,  in  oratory  earnest,  graceful  and  logical,  and  in 
their  wild  condition  they  were  industrious.  When  they  could  move  from 
one  valley  to  another,  or  camp  beside  some  spring  with  plenty  of  fresh 
grass  and  green  foliage,  their  habits  were  much  better  than  they  have  been 
since  they  have  been  compelled  to  live  at  one  place  or  in  some  agency. 

The  women  were  strong  and  healthy,  many  of  them  good-looking  and 
very  industrious,  and  the  most  cheerful,  jolly  lot  of  people  that  I  have  ever 
known.  They  were  always  chatting,  laughing,  joking  and  singing  among  them- 
selves, and  playing  games  with  their  children,  and  often  having  banquets 
and  festivals  for  the  entertainment  of  their  friends  and  themselves.  The 
climate  of  that  country  is  invigorating,  and  the  atmosphere  gives  a  feeling 
of  strength,  courage  and  energy.  Men  there  seem  willing  to  undertake 
any  enterprise,  having  a  feeling  of  confidence  and  resolution  within  them- 
selves that  one  does  not  have  in  a  more  languid  climate.  It  is  fair  to  say 
that  the  same  vigorous  climate  and  all  of  nature's  influences  will  produce  a 
white  race,  as  it  has  produced  an  Indian  race,  that  will  be  equal  to  any  in 
the  same  zone  in  strength,  character  and  fortitude.  In  fact  it  has  already 
been  demonstrated  that  some  of  the  strongest  and  most  heroic  regiments 
produced  during  the  great  war  came  from  Michigan.  Wisconsin  and  Min- 
nesota, the  First  Minnesota  standing  at  the  very  head. 

While  the  Indians  wei'e  being  driven  south  to  their  agencies,  a  detach- 
ment of  the  Twenty-second  Infantry  which  was  engaged  in  this  work 
suddenly  received  orders  by  telegraph  to  proceed  by  forced  marches  to 
Bismarck,  Dakota,  and  from  there  by  railroad  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  the 
city  of  Chicago,  where  they  an-ived  in  time  to  help  restore  order  and  sup- 
press the  riots  that  at  that  time  were  threatening  life  and  property  in  that 
city. 

In  the  midsummer  of  1877,  General  W.  T.  Sherman,  commanding  the 
United  States  army,  passed  through  that  country.  He  went  by  steamer 
up  the  Yellowstone  to  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn,  thence  by  wagon  across 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  255 

the  mountains  and  down  the  Columbia.  While  at  the  cantonment  of 
Tongue  River,  July  17,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Hon.  George  W. 
McCrary,  Secretary  of  War,  at  Washington,  D.  C..in  which  he  used  the  fol- 
lowing language: 

"  I  now  regard  the  Sioux  Indian  problem,  as  a  war  question,  as  solved  by  the  operations 
of  General  Miles  last  winter,  and  by  the  establishment  of  the  two  new  posts  on  the  Yellow- 
stone, now  assured  this  summer.  Boats  come  and  go  now.  where  a  year  ago  none  would 
venture  except  with  strong  guards.  Wood-yards  are  being  established  to  facilitate  nav- 
igation, and  the  great  mass  of  the  hostiles  have  been  forced  to  go  to  the  agencies  for  food 
and  protection,  or  have  fled  across  the  border  into  British  Territory.  " 

The  following  appeared  in  the  annual  report  of  Lieutenant-Cleneral  P. 

H.  Sheridan: 

HKAUyUARTKRS  MILITARY  DIVISION  OF  THE  MlSSOUKI,  | 
CHICAGO,  ILLS.,  OCTOBER  25,  1877.  \ 

GENERAL  : — 1  have  the  honor  to  submit,   for   the   information    of  the   General  of  the 
Army,  the   following  brief  report  of   events  occurring  within  the   Military  Division  of   the 
Missouri  since  the  25th  of  November,  1876,  the  date  of  my  last  annual  report. 
*  *  **  *  *  *  *  * 

During  the  months  of  December  and  January  the  hostile  Indians  were  constantly  har- 
assed by  the  troops  under  Col.  N.  A.  Miles.  Fifth  Infantry,  whose  headquarters  were  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Tongue  River,  and  who  had  two  sharp  engagements  with  them,  one  at 
Redwater  and  the  other  near  Hanging  Woman's  Fork,  inflicting  heavy  losses  in  men, 
supplies  and  animals. 

This  constant  pounding  and  ceaseless  activity  upon  the  part  of  our  troops  (Colonel 
Miles  in  particular),  in  midwinter,  began  to  tell,  and  early  in  February,  1877,  information 
was  communicated  which  led  me  to  believe  that  the  Indians  in  general  were  tired  of  the 
war,  and  that  the  large  bodies  heretofore  in  the  h'eld  were  beginning  to  break  up.  On  the 
25th  of  that  month  229  lodges  of  Minneconjoux  and  Sans  Arcs  came  and  surrendered  to 
the  troops  at  Cheyenne  agency,  Dak.  They  were  completely  disarmed,  their  horses  taken 
from  them,  and  they  were  put  under  guard,  and  this  system  was  carried  out  with  all  who 
afterward  came  in  to  surrender  within  the  Departments  of  Dakota  and  the  Platte.  From  the 
1st  of  March  to  the  21st  of  the  same  month  over  2,200  Indians,  in  detachments  of  from  30 
to  900,  came  in  and  surrendered  at  Camps  Sheridan  and  Robinson,  in  the  Department  of 
the  Platte,  and  on  the  22nd  of  April,  303  Cheyennes  came  and  surrendered  to  Colonel 
Miles  at  the  cantonment  on  Tongue  River  in  the  Department  of  Dakota,  and  more  were 
reported  on  the  way  in  to  give  themselves  up.  Finally  on  the  6th  of  May,  Crazy  Horse, 
with  889  of  his  people  and  2.000  ponies,  came  in  to  Camp  Robinson  and  surrendered  to 
General  Crook  in  person. 

In  the  meantime,  Colonel  Miles  having  had  information  of  the  whereabouts  of  Lame 
Deer's  band  of  hostile  Sioux  surprised  his  camp,  killing  14  warriors,  including  Lame  Deer 
and  Iron  Star,  the  two  principal  chiefs,  capturing  450  ponies  and  destroying  51  lodges 
and  their  contents.  I  may  mention  here  that  this  band  commenced  to  surrender,  in  small 
squads  from  two  to  twenty,  immediately  thereafter,  until  at  length,  on  the  10th  of  Sep- 
tember, the  last  of  the  band,  numbering  224,  constantly  followed  and  pressed  by  troops 


256  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

from  the  command  of  Colonel  Miles,  surrendered  at   Camp  Sheridan.     The  Sioux  war  was 


now  over. 
*  * 


P.  H  SHERIDAN, 
Lieut.-General.  Commanding. 

After  being  separated  from  my  family  for  nearly  one  year,  as  the  country 
became  safe,  one  of  the  first  steamboats  to  come  up  the  river,  in  June,  1877, 
brought  my  wife  and  her  sister,  Miss  Elizabeth  Sherman,  now  Mrs.  J.  D. 
Cameron,  and  our  little  daughter,  Cecilia.  They  were  the  first  white 
women  to  come  and  make  their  permanent  abode  in  that  wild  western 
country.  We  could  only  afford  them  a  soldier's  welcome,  as  we  were  liv- 
ing in  tents  and  in  the  cantonment  bivouac.  They  accepted  the  situation 
very  cheerfully,  however.  The  outdoor  exercises  which  they  were  able  to 
enjoy,  such  as  horseback-riding,  hunting  and  sailing  on  the  Yellowstone, 
together  with  the  novelty  of  their  new  life,  made  it  a  pleasure  and  a  ro- 
mance. As  other  steamboats  came  up  the  river  they  brought  the  families 
and  relatives  of  the  officers  and  some  of  the  soldiers,  and  this  was  the  be- 
ginning of  civilized  and  domestic  life  in  that  vicinity.  The  presence  of 
women  added  a  charm  and  a  ray  of  sunshine  to  the  life  of  the  soldier. 


' 


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GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  259 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  NEZ  PERCE  CAMPAIGN 

CHARACTER  OF  THE  NEZ  PERCES — THE  WALLOW  A  VALLEY  —  CHIEF  JOSEPH — How  THE  WAR  WAS 

BEGUN  —  HOWARD  AND  GIBBON'S  CAMPAIGNS  —  PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  MOVEMENT  — 

THE  TROOPS  DETAILED — THE  INDIAN  ALLIES  —  BRINGING  A  STEAMER 

—  THE  RECALL  —  CAPTAIN    BALDWIN  —  A  FORCED  MARCH  — 

MAUS    AND    THE    BEAR  —  A  CHANGE    OF    CoSTUME. 

HILE  these  operations  were  being  carried  on,  information  was 
received  through  unofficial  reports  and  newspaper  accounts 
of  threatened  hostilities  on  the  part  of  the  Nez  Perce  Indians 
in  Idaho. 

These  Indians  had  lived  from  time  immemorial  in  Idaho;  and 
up  to  that  time  it  had  been  their  boast  that  no  Nez  Perce  had 
ever  taken  the  life  of  a  white  man,  though  it  could  not  be  said 
that  no  white  man  had  ever  killed  a  Nez  Perce.  From  our  first  acquaint- 
ance with  them  through  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  they  had 
been  exceedingly  friendly  to  white  explorers  and  settlers,  yet  the  old 
story  of  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  white  people  to  occupy  Indian  land 
caused  the  serious  trouble  that  occurred  during  that  year,  followed  by 
the  usual  result.  They  were  occupants  of  the  Wallowa  Valley.  iBy 
treaty  this  land  had  been  given  to  them  as  a  part  of  their  reservation,"' 
and  they  were  opposed  to  the  surrender  of  it.  They  were  in  comfortable 
circumstances,  having  herds  of  cattle  and  plenty  of  horses.  A  deter- 
mined effort  was  made  by  interested  whites  to  make  them  surrender  the 
contested  ground,  and  the  prominent  chiefs,  including  Looking  Glass  and 
Chief  Joseph,  opposed  it. 

Chief  Joseph  told  me  afterward  that  his  father,  before  his  death,  called 
him  to  his  bedside  and  counseled  him  never  to  sign  a  treaty  giving  up  the 
Wallowa  Valley.  Faithful  to  the  dying  injunction  of  his  father  he  never 
did  consent  to  part  with  that  bit  of  territory,  but  the  whites  were  deter- 
mined to  occupy  it  and  they  had  enough  influence  at  Washington  to  have 
a  commission  sent  to  demand  the  surrender  of  this  territory,  and,  when 
that  was  not  complied  with,  to  have  a  body  of  troops  sent  to  remove  the 


260 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHIEF  JOSEPH. 


Indians  from  the  disputed  territory.  This  incensed  the  owners  of  the  soil 
to  a  very  high  degree,  and  yet  many  were  so  opposed  to  war  that  they 
decided  to  relinquish  their  cherished  lands  under  the  pressure  of  force. 

Chief  Joseph  and  others  had  gone  into  the  hills  and  mountains  to 
gather  up  their  stock  with  a  view  to  removing  it,  at  the  very  time  that  a 
disaffected  element  took  advantage  of  these  conditions  to 
precipitate   hostilities.     A  young  man  whose   brother  had 
been  killed  the  year  before  by  a  white  man,  went  out  and 
found  this  man,  killed  him,  and  brought  his  horse  into  the 
camp.   As  he  stood  beside  the  stolen  horse,  stroking  his  mane, 
he  said :     "You  will  now  have  to  go  to  war,  as  I  have  com- 
menced it  by  killing  the  man  who  killed  my  brother.     Troops 
will  be  sent  against  all  of  you." 

This  act  did.  in  fact,  start  hostilities,  as  it  created 
intense  excitement  and  feeling  against  the  Indians 
on  the  part  of  the  whites,  and  troops  were  sent  to 
arrest  alleged  depredations  and  hostilities.  Then  oc- 
curred some  sharp  fighting  by  troops  under  General 
Howard,  the  Indians  retreating  east  over  the  moun- 
tains, up  what  is  known  as  the  Lolo  trail  and  Clark's  Fork  of  the  Columbia, 
thence  east  through  what  is  known  as  Big  Hole  Basin,  where  they  were 
overtaken  by  the  command  of  General  Gibbon.  Then  a  sharp  and 
desperate  fight  occurred  in  which  General  Gibbon  was  wounded  and 
his  attack  repelled.  The  Indians  retreating  were  followed  by  General 
Howard's  command  through  Yellowstone  Park  and  out  over  Clark's  Fork 
Pass,  a  tributary  of  the  Yellowstone.  In  fact  they  came  near  intercepting 
General  Sherman  in  his  tour  through  the  Yellowstone  Park. 

From  the  unofficial  reports  and  newspaper  accounts  I  have  already 
mentioned,  I  judged  that  the  Indians  would,  should  they  evade  the  troops 
in  western  Montana,  endeavor  to  reach  the  Judith  Basin,  and,  if  pursued, 
would  move  north  of  the  Missouri  River.  I  ordered  (August  3)  First  Lieu- 
tenant G.  C.  Doane,  Second  Cavalry,  with  Company  E,  Seventh  Cavalry, 
and  the  Crow  allies,  to  the  Missouri  at  and  west  of  the  Musselshell,  with  in- 
structions to  "  intercept,  capture  or  destroy  the  Nez  Perces."  On  the  10th  of 
August,  to  the  same  end,  I  sent  General  Sturgis,  colonel  Seventh  Cavalry,  with 
six  companies  of  his  regiment,  to  Judith  Gap  —  a  point  they  subsequently 
passed  —  at  the  same  time  ordering  Lieutenant  Doane,  then  en  route  under  in- 
structions above  cited,  to  report  to  him.  Such  general  instructions  as  the 
facts  at  hand  rendered  practicable  were  furnished  General  Sturgis,  and  he 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


261 


was  directed  to  act  upon  any  new  information  he  might  obtain.  His  move- 
ments were  timely  and  well  made;  unfortunately  he  was  deceived  as  to 
the  movements  of  the  Indians  on  Clark's  Fork,  but  subsequently  pursued 
them  vigorously  to  near  Judith  Gap.  As  this  disposition  of  troops  antic- 
ipated the  orders  subsequently  received  from  division  and  depailment 
headquarters,  and  as  there  were  at  that  time  apparently  trustworthy 
reports  of  a  southward  movement  of  Sitting  Bull  and  his  following,  no 
further  dispositions  to  meet  the  Nez  Perces  were  made.  General  Sturgis 
was  directed  to  keep  me  informed  of  the  movements  of  the  Indians,  which 
he  did  by  subsequent  reports.  After  General  0.  0.  Howard's  command 
joined  that  of  General  Sturgis,  General  Howard  assumed  command  of 
both. 

The  information  that  1  had  received,  both  official  and  unofficial,  of  the 
movements  of  the  troops  and  also  of    the  Nez  Perce  Indians,  gave  me 
great  anxiety,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  17th  of  Sep- 
tember, standing  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Yellowstone 
River  and  looking  toward  the  west, 
I  noticed  a  dark  object  moving  along 


the  high  brakes  of 
the  western  horizon,  which  as  it 
gradually  came  nearer  proved  to  be  a  single 
horseman.  He  turned  down  the  trail 
nearly  opposite  to  where  I  was  standing, 
and  as  he  wound  his  way  along  down  the 
steep  bluffs  I  observed  that  he  was  a  cav- 
alryman, and  possibly  a  bearer  of  despatches.  He  came  to  the  ferry  on 
the  opposite  side,  the  boatman  ferried  him  over,  and  he  rode  up  to  me, 
dismounted  and  saluted,  and  then  I  recognized  him  as  one  of  the  cavalry- 
men from  General  Sturgis'  command.  So  anxious  was  1  to  know  the  results 


;  You  WILL  Now  HAVE  TO  Go 
TO  WAR." 


262  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

of  the  operations  taking  place  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to 
the  west,  that  the  first  question  I  asked  him  was,  "  Have  you  had  a  fight?" 
"  No,"  he  replied,  "  but  we  have  had  a  good  chance,"  alluding  to  an  adroit 
manoeuvre  that  Looking  Glass  and  Chief  Joseph  had  made  when  they 
effected  the  escape  of  the  Nez  Perces. 

On  opening  the  envelope  which  he  handed  me  1  found  a  report  from 
Colonel  Sturgis  and  a  letter  from  General  Howard,  stating  that  the  Nez 
Perces  had  left  them  hopelessly  in  the  rear,  and  wishing  that  I  would  take 
some  action  to  intercept  them. 

My  command  was  then  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  east  of  where  the 
Indians  had  crossed  the  Yellowstone,  and  this  report  was  five  days  old.  I 
determined  to  make  the  best  effort  possible  to  find  them,  however,  and  at 
once  gave  orders  for  what  available  troops  I  had  to  be  made  ready,  sup- 
plied and  ferried  over  the  river  to  the  north  side.  All  night  this 
work  was  carried  on,  and  before  sunrise  the  next  morning  the  troops 
were  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Yellowstone,  equipped  with  thirty  days 
supplies,  abundance  of  ammunition,  wagon-trains,  pack-trains,  artil- 
lery, scouts,  guides  and  everything  that  could  be  made  available  for  a  long 
and  difficult  forced  march,  and,  if  necessary,  a  desperate  encounter. 

Anticipating  that  the  Indians  would  move  toward  the  upper  Missouri, 
and  that  the  commands  of  General  Howard  and  Colonel  Sturgis  would 
need  supplies,  I  started  couriers  for  Fort  Buford  and  Fort  Peck,  on  the 
Missouri,  over  a  hundred  miles  away,  with  requisitions  for  a  steamer  load 
of  supplies  for  both  men  and  animals,  to  be  sent  up  the  Missouri.  These 
messages  reached  their  destination  all  right,  and  the  steamer  that  was 
loaded  at  Fort  Buford  reached  a  place  called  Cow  Island,  between  two  and 
three  hundred  miles  to  the  west,  just  in  time  to  supply  General  Howard's 
command  when  it  arrived  on  the  Missouri,  out  of  supplies,  with  thirty 
days'  supplies  for  men  and  animals. 

The  following  morning  at  daylight  my  command  slowly  wound  its  way 
up  the  trail  from  the  Yellowstone  to  the  high  mesa  on  the  north  side  of 
that  river.  Then  commenced  a  most  laborious  and  tedious  forced 
march  of  approximately  two  hundred  miles.  My  command  consisted  of  a 
small  detachment  of  white  guides  and  scouts  and  thirty  Cheyenne  Indian 
allies  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  M.  P.  Maus,  First  United  States 
Infantry;  a  battalion  of  the  Fifth  Infantry  mounted  on  the  captured  Sioux 
ponies;  Snyder's,  Bennett's,  Carter's  and  Romeyn's  companies,  Captain 
Simon  Snyder  commanding;  a  battalion  of  the  Second  United  States  Cav- 
alry, Tyler's,  Jerome's  and  McClernand's  companies,  Captain  George  L. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  263 

Tyler  commanding;  a  battalion  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  Bale's,  Godfrey's 
and  Moylan's  companies,  Captain  Owen  Hale  commanding;  one  breech- 
loading  Hotchkiss  gun,  Sergeant  McHugh,  Fifth  Infantry,  commanding; 
the  train  escort,  commanded  by  Captain  D.  H.  Brotherton,  Fifth  Infantry, 
consisting  of  Company  K  and  a  detachment  of  Company  D,  Fifth  Infantry, 
with  one  twelve-pounder  Napoleon  gun. 

From  information  received  as  to  the  direction  taken  by  the  Indians,  the 
indications  were  that  they  intended  to  join  the  hostile  Sioux  north  of  the 
Canadian  line.  In  order  to  intercept  them  if  possible,  or  if  not,  to  take  up 
their  trail  and  pursue  them,  I  moved  to  the  northwest,  toward  the  mouth 
of  the  Musselshell,  reaching  a  camping  ground  within  six  miles  of  that 
point  on  the  evening  of  the  21st,  after  a  hard  march  of  fifty-two  miles 
within  twenty-four  hours. 

During  this  march  across  the  country  from  the  Yellowstone  to  the  Mis- 
souri, I  had  sent  scouts  out  to  the  front  and  left  with  directions  to  go  on 
until  they  found  some  sign  of  the  Indians,  and  then  to  come  in  on  my  line 
of  march  and  make  reports,  thus  covering  our  command  by  a  cloud  of 
scouts  and  videttes  for  a  long  distance  in  advance  and  to  our  left.  Some 
of  these  men  rode  a  distance  of  more  than  two  hundred  miles  before  mak- 
ing any  report.  Still,  though  in  a  circle  of  scouts,  keeping  from  five  to 
twenty  miles  in  advance,  and  taking  advantage  of  the  high  buttes  to  sur- 
vey the  country  carefully  with  field  glasses  or  telescopes,  we  discovered 
no  sign  of  the  hostile  Nez  Perces. 

I  did  not  hear  from  one  of  my  guides,  George  Johnson,  a  brave,  intel- 
ligent man.  and  afterward  learned  that  he  had  met  with  misfortune. 
Going  down  a  stream  known  as  Squaw  Creek,  and  coming  to  the  bank  of 
the  Missouri,  he  supposed  it  was  the  Musselshell,  a  river  which  he  had 
crossed  many  times  by  fording.  Being  desirous  of  reaching  what  he  sup- 
posed was  the  other  side  of  the  Musselshell,  he  started  across.  As  he  was 
a  heavy  man,  and  his  horse  was  undoubtedly  weak,  he  got  out  into  the 
whirlpools  of  the  deep  and  turbulent  Missouri,  and  was  carried  down  the 
river  and  drowned  in  the  treacherous  waters  before  he  could  reach  either 
shore.  His  body  and  that  of  his  horse  were  found  many  miles  below  some 
weeks  afterward. 

Our  band  of  Indian  allies  that  were  not  out  as  scouts,  moved  along  be- 
side the  column  apparently  indifferent  and  listless,  yet  taking  the  greatest 
care  of  their  band  of  war  ponies,  which  they  were  driving  or  leading,  and 
evidently  getting  in  fine  condition  for  serious  service.  They  themselves 
were  mounted  on  very  indifferent  ponies  and  mules,  and  some  of 


264  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

them  wore  old  hats  and  coats,  and  very  ordinary  Indian  clothing;  but 
the  sudden  and  instantaneous  transformation  of  these  warriors  when 
they  came  in  close  proximity  to  the  enemy  was  startling  and  most 
interesting. 

Reaching  camp  six  miles  from  the  Missouri  on  the  evening  of  Septem- 
ber 23,  and  desiring  to  take  every  chance  of  getting  my  command  across 
the  deep  and  turbid  waters  of  this  great  river,  I  called  upon  Captain  Hale 
to  give  me  an  officer  who  would  ride  forward  and  detain  any  steamer  that 
might  be  either  ascending  or  descending  the  Missouri.  The  horses  of  the 
Seventh  Cavalry  had  just  been  turned  out  to  graze,  after  a  very  long  and 
most  difficult  forced  march.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  must  have  been 
very  tired,  Lieutenant  Biddle  quickly  responded  that,  with  the  approval  of 
Captain  Hale,  he  would  go.  I  replied  that  I  would  be  very  glad  if  he 
would  take  one  or  two  men  and  ride  forward  rapidly  for  that  purpose.  He 
had  his  horse  saddled  at  once,  and  accompanied  by  one  soldier,  in  less  than 
ten  minutes  lie  was  disappearing  from  our  view,  as  he  dashed  at  a  gallop 
down  the  valley.  I  could  not  anticipate  at  that  anxious  moment  the  ter- 
rible tragedy  that  awaited  in  the  near  future  these  two  enterprising  and 
splendid  officers.  I  do  not  think  that  Lieutenant  Biddle  drew  rein  until 
he  stood  on  the  bank  of  the  Missouri  just  in  time  to  hail  the  last  regular 
steamer  going  down  the  river  that  season.  As  a  result  of  taking  advan- 
tage of  every  possible  chance,  and  the  enterprise  of  the  young  officer,  he 
sent  word  back  that  night,  and  when  we  reached  the  Missouri  the  next 
morning  we  found  the  steamer  tied  up  at  the  bank  awaiting  us. 

Early  the  next  morning  found  us  at  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  I  imme- 
diately transferred  to  the  opposite  side  the  battalion  of  the  Second  Cav- 
alry, under  Captain  Tyler.  This  was  done  for  a  double  purpose.  One  was 
that  they  might  move  along  the  left  bank  and  prevent  the  Nez  Perces  from 
crossing  at  any  of  the  ferries  above,  and  the  other  that  they  might  con- 
tinue the  march  to  the  northwest,  where  I  had  been  ordered  to  send  a  battal- 
ion of  cavalry  to  escort  General  Terry  on  his  peace  commission  to  meet 
Sitting  Bull  with  the  Canadian  officers  on  Canadian  soil.  The  remainder 
of  the  command  was  moved  up  the  river  a  short  distance  above  the  mouth 
of  the  Musselshell,  and,  as  all  information  I  had  received  up  to  that  time 
indicated  that  the  Nez  Perces  were  still  fifty  or  seventy-five  miles  south  of 
the  Missouri,  I  decided  to  move  up  the  south  bank  of  that  river  and  inter- 
cept them. 

As  I  could  not  detain  the  steamer  any  great  length  of  time  I  gave  per- 
mission for  it  to  continue  its  journey  down  the  river.  Captain  Baldwin. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


265 


one  of  the  most  efficient  of  officers,  who  had  been  worn  down  by  hard  serv- 
ice, was,  by  the  advice  of  the  surgeon,  instructed  to  go  down  the  river  for 
rest,  and  also  to  hurry  forward  the  steamer  with  the  supplies  1  had 
ordered  before  leaving  the  cantonment  on  the  Yellowstone. 

As  our  command  was  being  prepared  to  march  to  the  west,  and  while 
the  steamer  was  but  a  short  distance  away,  three  men  came  down  the 
river  in  a  boat  and  announced  the  fact  that  the  Nez  Perces  had  crossed 
the  Missouri  some  sixty  miles  to  the  west  of  us,  at  a  point  known  as  Cow 
Island.  This  was  one  of  the  occasions  in  military  affairs  when,  acting  upon 
the  best  information  obtainable,  you  suddenly  find  yourself  greatly  embar- 
rassed by  new  information  that  is  directly  contradictory. 

The  steamer  was  then  beyond  hailing  distance,  but  as  quick  as  thought. 
Sergeant  McHugh,  whose  piece  of  artillery  was 

resting  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  _._  was  ordered  to 

charge  his  gun 


CALLING  BACK  THE  STEAMBOAT. 


and  train  it  down 
the  river  and 
commence  throwing  shot  and 
shell  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The 
reverberation  of  the  cannon 
down  between  the  high  bluffs  of 

the  river,  and  the  bursting  of  shells  in  the  air  on  the  left  bank  could  be 
heard  for  several  miles  down  the  Missouri,  and  I  knew  that  if  these  sounds 
reached  the  ears  of  that  thorough  soldier,  Baldwin,  he  would  turn  back 
and  move  to  the  sound  of  the  guns. 

I  was  not  mistaken  in  the  man  ;  in  the  course  of  twenty  or  thirty  min- 
utes the  soldiers  sung  out,  "Here  she  comes."    And  a  most  welcome  sight 


266  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

it  was.  to  see  the  black  column  of  smoke  as  the  steamer  rounded  the  bend 
far  below  and  came  puffing  up  against  the  strong  current.  When  he 
arrived,  I  told  Captain  Baldwin  that  I  was  delighted  to  see  him,  though  not 
expecting  to  so  soon  again,  and  he  replied  that  he  knew  something  was 
wanted  or  that  there  was  a  fight,  and  that  he  wanted  to  be  on  hand  in  either 
case. 

We  quickly  transferred  the  command  to  the  north  side  of  the  Missouri, 
and  once  more  allowed  the  steamer  to  loose  her  moorings  and  proceed 
down  the  river,  and  the  troops  prepared  in  serious  earnest  for  the  desperate 
race  and  possible  encounter.  The  Little  Rocky  Mountains  is  a  range 
some  fifty  miles  in  extent,  running  northwest  and  southeast.  Beyond 
the  northern  point  about  ten  miles  is  a  range  known  as  the  Bear's  Paw 
Mountains,  with  a  low  divide  connecting  the  two.  My  information  was 
that  the  Nez  Perces  had  taken  the  course  that  would  bring  them  through 
this  pass  between  the  two  ranges.  Instead  of  going  to  the  west  of  the 
Little  Rocky  Mountains,  though  I  knew  the  Nez  Perces  to  be  in  that  di- 
rection, I  marched  along  the  base  of  the  mountains  on  the  east  side,  there- 
by concealing  the  command  from  the  observation  of  the  Indians,  while 
my  scouts  were  kept  well  on  the  crests  of  the  mountains  and  to  the  west 
whenever  possible. 

Major  Guido  Ilges.  who  had  been  stationed  at  Fort  Benton,  Montana, 
hearing  of  the  Indians  near  the  crossing  at  Cow  Island,  had  moved  down 
to  that  point  and  with  a  small  detachment  of  troops  had  boldly  followed 
them  for  a  short  distance,  but  had  not  force  enough  to  accomplish  any 
decisive  result.  He  was  a  thorough  soldier,  however,  and  hearing  that  my 
command  was  in  that  vicinity,  sent  me  important  information. 

On  leaving  the  Missouri  River  for  the  march  north,  the  command  was 
organized  to  move  with  pack-trains,  leaving  the  wagon-trains  with  a 
strong  escort  to  follow  as  best  they  could.  Every  precaution  was  taken  to 
conceal  the  command  as  far  as  possible,  and  the  march  was  made  with  all 
the  celerity  and  secrecy  practicable.  Strict  orders  were  given  against 
firing  a  shot  or  in  any  way  disturbing  the  vast  numbers  of  buffaloes, 
deer  and  elk  which  we  encountered.  In  this  way  we  moved  from 
early  dawn  to  dark  for  four  days  on  the  grassy  plain  and  foot-hills  which 
bordered  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Little  Rockies,  and  on  the  29th  tidings 
regarding  the  trail  to  the  left  reached  us.  Captain  Maus,  command- 
ing the  scouts,  had  used  his  sleepless  vigilance  to  good  purpose  and 
had  gained  the  information  desired  without  disclosing  his  presence  or  that 
of  the  command. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  267 

Here  occurred  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  loyalty  of  the  true 
soldier.  Captain  Maus  and  his  small  band,  while  engaged  in  their  scout- 
ing duties,  suddenly  came  upon  a  huge  bear — sometimes  called  the  "griz- 
zly" but  in  that  region  more  properly  the  "  silver  tip" — that  was  evidently, 
conscious  of  its  strength  for  it  rose  upon  its  hind  feet  in  an  attitude  of 
defiance.  Captain  Maus,  with  the  instincts  of  a  thorough  sportsman, 
quickly  brought  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder,  and  running  his  eye  along  the 
sight,  just  at  that  moment  remembered  the  rigid  orders  against  firing  and 
as  quickly  brought  it  down  to  his  side,  the  spirit  of  the  soldier  overcoming 
the  strong  temptation  of  the  hunter.  His  small  detachment  then  passed 
on  in  search  of  larger  game. 

That  night  I  received  despatches  from  General  Howard,  stating  that  he 
had  turned  his  cavalry  back  to  Idaho,  and  was  going  to  move  his  in- 
fantry down  the  Missouri  River,  leaving  the  battalion  of  Colonel  Sturgis, 
six  troops  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  on  the  Missouri  River.  This  made  it 
clear  that  whatever  encounters  we  might  now  have  with  the  Nez  Perces 
we  were  entirely  beyond  support. 

At  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  30th  the  command  had  had  its  light 
breakfast,  and  was  in  the  saddle  pushing  on  again  in  search  of  the  enemy, 
everyone  realizing  that  the  probabilities  were  that  a  conflict  would  soon 
occur. 

Lieutenant  0.  F.  Long,  Fifth  Infantry,  had  been  sent  out  very  early  in 
the  morning  to  examine  the  trail  found  by  Indian  scouts,  and  reported  the 
recent  movements  of  the  Nez  Perces.  This  officer  then  rejoined  the  com- 
mand and  was  active  and  brave  in  the  engagement  that  followed. 

Our  Cheyenne  and  Sioux  Indian  allies  now  assumed  a  more  serious  atti- 
tude. They  were  well  in  front  of  the  command,  with  their  scouts  and 
lookouts  a  long  distance  in  advance,  and  began  to  show  more  earnestness 
and  activity  than  they  had  heretofore.  Suddenly  one  of  these  advance 
scouts,  a  young  warrior,  was  seen  galloping  at  full  speed  back  over  the 
prairie.  He  said  something  in  Sioux  or  Cheyenne  to  the  Indians  as  he 
passed  them,  and  it  was  evident  that  he  brought  information  of  the  dis- 
covery of  the  Nez  Perce  camp.  Then  an  almost  instantaneous  transfor- 
mation scene  was  enacted  by  these  savages;  hats,  coats,  leggins,  shirts, 
blankets,  saddles  and  bridles  were  quickly  thrown  into  one  great  heap  in  a 
ravine  or  "  cash "  (cache)  as  the  Indians  call  it.  A  lariat  was  placed  over 
the  neck  of  each  war  pony,  with  a  double  knot  around  his  under  jaw.  The 
warrior,  painted  for  the  fray,  was  bedecked  with  the  usual  gorgeous  long 
and  high  headdress  of  eagle  feathers,  and  wore  a  buckskin  covering  about 

M— 18 


268  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

the  loins,  which  was  his  only  clothing  except  a  pair  of  buckskin  moccasins. 
Springing  upon  their  war  ponies,  with  rifle  in  hand,  they  looked  like  game 
champions  prepared  for  the  fray,  or  ideal  picturesque  warriors  arrayed 
for  the  tight.  They  appeared  to  be  perfectly  wild  with  delight,  and  as  unlike 
what  they  had  seemed  twenty  minutes  before  as  two  scenes  of  a  drama. 

Similar  spirit  was  manifested  along  the  entire  body  of  troops.  "  The 
Nez  Perces  over  the  divide,"  was  the  word  that  was  passed  quickly  in  low 
tones  from  mouth  to  mouth  along  the  entire  column.  The  command  im- 
mediately took  a  trot,  with  an  occasional  canter,  where  the  ground  would 
admit  of  it,  over  the  rolling  prairie  and  the  grass-covered  valleys.  As  they 
moved  rapidly  forward  on  their  spirited  horses  they  all  realized  the  des- 
perate nature  of  the  encounter  to  which  they  were  moving,  and  yet  a  more 
light-hearted,  resolute  body  of  men  never  moved  over  any  field.  An  occa- 
sional laugh,  a  happy  witticism,  and  radiant  smiles  were  heard  and  seen 
along  the  lines,  and  one  officer  complacently  rode  into  action  humming 
the  air  "What  Shall  the  Harvest  be?"-  — the  melody  of  the  song 
timed  to  the  footfalls  of  his  galloping  steed.  Rounding  the  northeast  base 
of  the  Bear's  Paw  Mountains,  the  distance  that  was  supposed  to  be  a  few 
miles,  proved  to  be  eight,  and  the  disposition  of  the  troops  was  made 
while  they  were  at  a  trot  or  rapid  walk,  and  the  pace  quickened  as  they 
neared  the  camp  to  a  gallop  and  charge. 

Orders  were  sent  by  Assistant  Adjutant-General  Baird  of  my  staff  to 
Captain  Tyler's  command  (the  Second  Cavalry),  to  sweep  around  to  the  left 
and  then  down  the  valley,  and  cut  off,  if  possible,  the  herd  of  stock  from 
the  camp,  in  order,  to  use  a  familiar  term,  "  to  set  the  Indians  afoot."  The 
Seventh  Cavalry  was  thrown  in  line  of  battle  while  moving  at  a  gallop,  the 
commanding  officer,  Captain  Hale  riding  in  advance.  He  presented  an  ideal 
picture  of  the  cavalry  officer.  He  was  splendidly  mounted  on  a  spirited 
gray  horse,  and  wore  a  jaunty  hat  and  a  light  cavalry  short  coat,  while 
his  whole  uniform  and  equipment  were  in  perfect  order.  Inspiring  his 
followers  to  courage  by  his  own  example,  with  a  smile  upon  his  handsome 
face,  he  dashed  forward  to  the  cruel  death  awaiting  him.  The  battalion  of 
the  Fifth  Infantry,  under  Captain  Snyder,  was  deployed  in  the  same  manner, 
a  little  in  the  rear  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry  at  first,  and  finally  extending  the 
line  to  the  left,  charging  directly  upon  the  camp;  while  the  battalion  of  the 
Second  Cavalry  was  sweeping  the  valley  of  the  vast  herd  of  eight  hundred 
horses,  mules  and  ponies  there  grazing.  This  gallop  forward,  preceding  the 
charge,  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  inspiring  sights  I  ever  witnessed 
on  any  field.  It  was  the  crowning  glory  of  our  twelve  days'  forced  marching. 


Q 

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GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  271 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
THE  SIEGE  AND  THE  SURRENDER. 

THE  ATTACK  —  SURPRISE  OP  THE  NEZ  PERCES —  DEATH  OP  HALE  AND  BIDDLE  —  ESCAPE  OP  WHITE 

BIRD  —  LAYING  SIEGE  TO  THE  INDIAN  CAMP  —  PRECAUTIONS  AGAINST  A  COUNTER  SIEGE  —  A 

CAPTURE  AND  AN  EXCHANGE  —  A  FALSE  ALARM  —  THE  SURRENDER  —  BACK  TO  THE 

MISSOURI  —  MEETING  STURGIS'  COMMAND  —  CARRYING  THE  WOUNDED  AND 

BURYING  THE  DEAD  —  APPEARANCE  op  THE  COMMAND  ox  THE  MARCH 

—  CONDUCT  OP  THE  INDIAN  ALLIES  AND  THEIR  REWARD  — 

THEIR  ENDURANCE  —  RETURN  TO  THE  CANTONMENT 

—  FINAL  DISPOSITION  OP  THE  INDIANS. 

HE  Nez  Perces  were  quietly  slumbering  in  their  tents,  evidently 
without  a  thought  of  danger,  as  they  had  sent  out  scouts  the 
day  before  to  see  if  there  were  any  troops  in  the  vicinity,  and 
the  scouts  had  reported  "none  discovered."  but  that  they  had 
seen  vast  herds  of  buffaloes,  deer,  elk  and  antelopes  quietly  graz- 
ing on  the  prairie  undisturbed,  and  no  enemy  in  sight.  When  the 
charge  was  made,  the  spirited  horses  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry 
carried  that  battalion  a  little  more  rapidly  over  the  plains  than 
the  Indian  ponies  of  the  mounted  infantry,  and  it  was  expected  to 
first  strike  the  enemy  with  the  Seventh  Cavalry.  The  tramp  of  at  least 
six  hundred  horses  over  the  prairie  fairly  shook  the  ground,  and,  although 
a  complete  surprise  to  the  Indians  in  the  main,  it  must  have  given  them  a 
few  minutes'  notice,  for  as  the  troops  charged  against  the  village  the  In- 
dians opened  a  hot  fire  upon  them.  This  momentarily  checked  the  ad- 
vance of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  which  fell  back,  but  only  for  a  short  distance 
and  quickly  rallied  again  and  charged  forward  at  a  gallop,  driving  tha,t 
portion  of  the  camp  of  the  Indians  before  it. 

At  the  same  time  the  battalion  of  the  Fifth  Infantry  under  Captain 
Snyder  charged  forward  up  to  the  very  edge  of  the  valley  in  which  the 
Indian  camp  was  located,  threw  themselves  upon  the  ground,  holding 
the  lariats  of  their  ponies  in  their  left  hands,  and  opened  a  deadly  fire 
with  their  long  range  rifles  upon  the  enemy  with  telling  effect.  The 
tactics  were  somewhat  in  Indian  fashion,  and  most  effective,  as  they 
presented  a  small  target  when  lying  or  kneeling  upon  the  ground,  and 
their  ponies  were  so  accustomed  to  the  din  and  noise  of  the  Indian  camp, 


272 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


the  buffalo  chase  and  the  Indian  habits  generally,  that  they  stood  quietly 
behind  their  riders,  many  of  them  putting  their  heads  down  to  nibble  the 
green  grass  upon  which  they  were  standing.  During  the  desperate  fight 
the  horses  and  ponies  were  of  course  exposed,  and  the  infantrymen  had 
become  so  attached  to  their  strong  and  handsome  ponies  that  when  one 
was  shot,  it  was  a  real  bereavement  to  his  owner;  and  in  more  than  one 
case  it  was  noticed  that  teai-s  filled  the  eyes  of  the  soldier  as  his  favorite 
pony  fell  dead. 

Sergeant  McHugh  had  galloped  forward  with  his  Hotchkiss  breech- 
loading  gun,  keeping  in  line  with  the  mounted  infantry,  and  had  gone  into 
action,  throwing  shells  into  the  camp  with  decided  effect.  The  infantry 
swept  around  to  the  left  to  enclose  that  portion  of  the  camp  and  force  the 
Indians  into  a  deep  ravine.  The  battalion  of  the  Second  Cavalry  had 
stampeded  nearly  every  animal  in  the  valley,  and  portions  of  that  com- 
mand were  used  immediately  in  circling  the  camp,  in  order  to  enclose  it. 

As  I  passed  completely  around  the  Indians  over  the  ground  occupied  by 
the  mounted  infantry  and  the  Second  Cavalry,  to  the  line 
occupied  by  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  I  was  shocked  to  see  the 
lifeless  body  of  that  accomplished  officer  and  thorough  gen- 
tleman, Hale,  lying  upon  the  crest  of  a  little   knoll,  with   his 
white  charger  dead  beside  him.     A  little  further  on  was  the 
body  of  the   young  and  spirited  Biddle.      Captains 
Moylan  and  Godfrey    were   badly  wounded;  and  in 
fact  a  great  part  of  the  line  encircling  the  camp  was 
dotted  with  dead  and  wounded  soldiers  and  horses. 

The  loss  of  the  Nez  Perces  was  even  more 
severe.  The  fight  had  been  sudden,  rapid,  and 
most  desperate  on  both  sides. 

From  what  was  at  first  a  wide  circle  the 
troops  gradually  closed  their  lines,  forcing  the 
Indians  into  a  narrow  ravine,  and  charging  them 
on  all  sides  until  the  grip  of  iron  had  been  com- 
pleted. In  this  way  the  losses  on  both  sides*had 
been  serious  considering  the  number  engaged. 
Captain  Carter  in  one  charge  had  thirty-five  per  cent,  of  his  men  placed  hors 
de  combat,  but  I  felt  positive  we  had  secured  the  beleaguered  Indians  in  their 
camp  beyond  the  possibility  of  escape.  I  did  not,  therefore,  order  a  gen- 
eral assault,  as  I  knew  it  must  result  in  the  loss  of  many  valuable  lives 
and  possibly  might  end  in  a  massacre.  So  I  directed  the  men  to  hold  their 


CAPTAIN  HALE. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  273 

ground,  and  then,  from  a  high  point,  watched  the  tight  going  on  farther 
down  the  valley. 

As- the  cavalry  charged  the  camp,  a  few  of  the  warriors,  including  White 
Bird,  ran  out  and  secured  their  horses  and  fled  to  the  hills.  As  the  bat- 
talion of  the  Second  Cavalry  swept  down  the  valley  they  became  somewhat 
separated;  Captain  Tyler  captured  some  three  hundred  of  the  ponies; 
Lieutenant  Jerome,  another  large  bunch;  and  Lieutenant  McClernand,  who 
had  swept  on  still  further,  finally  secured  upward  of  three  hundred  more 
some  three  or  four  miles  down  the  valley.  In  moving  them  back,  the 
small  number  of  Indians  who  had  escaped  undertook  to  rescue  the  animals, 
and  made  several  counter  attacks,  which  were  all  successfully  repelled  by 
the  brave  and  judicious  acts  of  McClernand  and  his  men.  The  ponies 
were,  finally,  all  gathered  up  in  a  secluded  valley  in  the  rear  of  the  command, 
and  proved  to  be  eight  hundred  in  number. 

That  afternoon  our  train  came  up  under  the  escort  of  Captain  Brother- 
ton,  and  this  escort,  together  with  the  Napoleon  gun,  was  used  in  strength- 
ening the  line  then  encircling  the  Indian  camp,  making  escape  doubly  dif- 
ficult. 

As  a  result  of  this  desperate  encounter  I  found  that  the  two  officers  be- 
fore mentioned  and  twenty  soldiers  had  been  killed.  My  acting  Assistant 
Adjutant-General  George  W.  Baird,  while  carrying  orders  and  inspiring  the 
command  with  his  own  bravery,  was  severely  wounded,  his  right  arm  being 
broken  and  part  of  one  ear  shot  away.  Lieutenant  Romeyn  was  injured 
while  leading  a  charge.  Besides,  Captains  Moylan  and  Godfrey  together 
with  thirty-eight  soldiers  were  wounded. 

The  Indians  occupied  a  crescent-shaped  ravine,  and  it  was  apparent  that 
their  position  could  only  be  forced  by  a  charge  or  a  siege.  The  first  could 
not  be  accomplished  without  too  great  a  sacrifice,  while  the  latter  in  my 
judgment  would  be  almost  sure  to  result  satisfactorily.  My  one  concern 
then  was  whether  the  Sioux  Indians  whom  I  knew  to  be  encamped  under 
Sitting  Bull  north  of  the  Canadian  boundary  line,  some  fifty  miles  distant, 
and  to  whom  the  few  Indians  who  had  been  able  to  escape  from  the  village 
had  fled,  might  not  come  to  the  assistance  of  the  Nez  Perces.  During  the 
last  eight  months  numbers  of  disaffected  Indians  that  had  been  driven  out 
of  the  valley  of  the  Yellowstone  and  its  tributaries  had  sought  refuge  on 
Canadian  soil  and  joined  the  large  camp  of  Sitting  Bull,  thus  greatly  in- 
creasing his  force.  I  afterward  learned,  however,  that  when  the  Nez 
Perces  messengers  reached  the  Camp  of  Sitting  Bull,  instead  of  coming  to 
the  assistance  of  the  besieged,  the  whole  camp,  numbering  between  one  and 


274  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

two  thousand  Indians,  who  evidently  had  not  forgotten  their  experiences 
during  the  autumn  and  winter,  immediately  moved  forty  miles  farther  back 
into  the  interior  of  the  Canadian  territory.  Still,  as  I  did  not  know  this 
fact  until  several  weeks  later,  I  was  bound  to  make  provision  to  meet  this 
large  body  of  Indians  should  they  advance  to  the  assistance  of  the  Nez 
Perces. 

I,  therefore,  desired  that  the  military  authorities  should  have  some  in- 
timation of  my  position,  and  to  that  end  sent  word  to  General  Terry,  com- 
manding the  department,  who  was  then  at  Fort  Benton,  nearly  a  hundred 
miles  to  the  west,  apprising  him  of  our  movements  and  success.  I  also 
sent  orders  to  Colonel  Sturgis  to  move  up  and  join  us  without  delay.  He 
was  then  a  hundred  miles  to  the  south  and  separated  from  us  by  the  Mis- 
souri River.  I  likewise  informed  General  Howard  of  our  position. 

As  we  were  besieging  this  camp  of  Indians  and  holding  their  large  herd 
of  stock  in  the  valley,  with  our  large  number  of  wounded  to  be  cared  for. 
1  did  not  relish  the  idea  of  being  besieged  in  our  turn  by  the  hostile  Sioux, 
and  therefore  took  every  possible  precaution  to  meet  such  an  emergency. 
We  had  no  interpreters  who  could  talk  the  Nez  Perce  language  well  enough 
to  be  of  any  use,  but  some  of  the  scouts  could  speak  Chinook,  and  they 
called  out  to  the  Indians  to  surrender.  Joseph  came  up  under  a  flag  of 
truce,  and  from  him  we  learned  that  the  principal  chief,  Looking  Glass, 
and  four  other  chiefs,  had  been  killed,  besides  a  large  number  of  others 
killed  and  wounded.  Joseph  was  informed  that  they  must  surrender  by 
bringing  up  their  arms  and  laying  them  on  the  ground.  They  pretended 
to  do  so  and  brought  up  a  few,  which  amounted  to  nothing  ;  but  hesitated 
greatly  about  surrendering  the  remainder. 

While  this  was  going  on  I  directed  Lieutenant  Jerome  to  ascertain  what 
the  Indians  were  doing  in  the  village,  supposing  that  he  would  go  to  the 
edge  of  the  bluff  and  look  down  into  the  camp.  Misunderstanding  my 
instructions,  he  went  down  into  the  ravine,  whereupon  he  was  seized  and 
held  until  he  was  exchanged  for  Chief  Joseph. 

It  continued  to  snow  during  the  day,  yet  the  siege  was  kept  up  con- 
tinuously, with  a  sharp  lookout  for  any  force  that  might  come  to  the 
assistance  of  the  Nez  Perces.  On  the  morning  of  the  third  day  of  the  siege 
the  ground  was  well  covered  with  snow,  and  the  scouts  reported  a  large  body 
of  black  objects  on  the  distant  hills,  moving  in  our  direction.  This  occa- 
sioned much  excitement  among  the  troops,  and  every  eye  was  turned  to  the 
north,  from  whence  it  was  feared  that  Sitting  Bull's  hostile  Sioux  and  pos- 
sibly the  Assinneboins  and  Gros  Ventres,  both  of  whom  were  known  to  be 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  275 

to  the  north  of  us,  might  be  coming  to  the  assistance  of  the  Nez  Perces. 
In  fact  at  one  time  it  was  reported  that  the  moving  column  was  a  large 
body  of  Indians.  Every  officer's  field  glass  was  turned  in  that  direction, 
and  as  the  long,  dark  column  moved  through  the  mist  of  the  light  snow, 
slowly  developing  its  strength  of  numbers  but  not  revealing  its  charac- 
ter, making  its  way  toward  us  over  the  distant  hills  and  rolling  prairie, 
I  am  sure  that  I  watched  it  with  very  great  anxiety.  Considering  our 
condition,  with  the  large  herd  of  captured  stock  we  were  holding,  and 
the  hostile  camp  we  were  besieging,  such  a  formidable  reinforcement 
would  of  course  be  a  very  serious  matter,  and  the  thought  ran  quickly 
through  my  mind  as  to  wnatvwould  be  the  best  disposition  to  make  of  the 
troops  in  order  to  hold  what  we  had  gained  and  repel  any  effort,  no  mat- 
ter how  strong,  to  rescue  the  besieged  or  overcome  our  small  but  very 
efficient  force.  I  concluded  that  we  could  use  our  artillery  and  quite  a  large 
portion  of  our  troops  against  any  additional  enemy  and  still  hold  the  fruits 
of  the  victory  already  gained.  As  the  mysterious  and  apparently  for- 
midable force  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  some  of  the  scouts  on  the  extreme 
outpost  shouted  "buffalo!"  and  it  was  a  most  gratifying  cry.  The  vre,lief 
occasioned  by  this  announcement  was  like  that  affordedjto»th£'niarine*r  by 
the  appearance  of  a  beacon  light,  or  like  sunlight  bursting  through  the 
dark  and  angry  clouds  of  a  storm. 

The  snow  and  cold  caused  great  suffering  to  our  wounded,  although 
they  were  made  as  comfortable  as  possible,  and  while  the  siege  continued, 
detachments  were  sent  some  five  miles  distant  up  into  the  BeaVs  Paw 
mountains  to  get  poles  with  which  to  make  tcavois  and  stretchers,  know- 
ing that  the  wounded  must  soon  be  transported  to  the  nearest  hospital.'1* 

On  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  January,  Gener*!  Howard  came  up  with  an 
escort  of  twelve  men,  and,  remaining  in  our  camp  over  night,  was  present 
next  morning  at  the  surrender  of  Chief  Joseph  and  the  entire  Radian  camp. 
As  Chief  Joseph  was  about  to  hand  his  rifle  to  me^he  raised  his  eyes  -to- 
ward the  sun  wjiich  then  stood  at,  about  ten-olclock,  and  said,  "  From  where 
the  sun  now  stands,  I  fight  no  more  against  the  white  man."  From  that 
time  to  this  he  has  kept  his"  wprd.  •  Those  who  surrendered  with  Chief 
Joseph  and  those  taken  outside  the  camp  numbered  more  than  four  hun- 
dred. There  \Hfre  kjjleir*twenty*i&x  ih  alfcTand  forty -six  were  wounded. 

The  work  of  securing  the'^irm's'.of  the  Indians,  burying  the  dead,  and 
preparing  the  woun,ded  for  tKe.ir  long  journey  occupied  the  entire  remain- 
der of  the  day,  and  on- the  following  morning  we  commenced  our  slow  and  dif- 
ficult march  -back  to  the  Missouri  River,  a  distance  of  about  sixty-five  miles. 


276 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


During  the  siege  Lieutenant  Maus  had  been  sent  north  with  a  detach- 
ment to,  if  possible,  overtake  White  Bird  and  any  other  Indian  that  had  been 
able  to  escape.  In  this  he  was  to  some  extent  successful,  and  brought 
back  several.  He  also  brought  back  the  information  that  when  the  Indians 
who  had  escaped  reached  the  Assinneboin  camp,  the  friendly  Assiuneboins. 
instead  of  coming  to  the  assistance  of  their  beleaguered  brethren,  killed 
the  two  Nez  Perces  and  left  their  bodies  on  the  prairie. 

On  our  return  march,  we  met  Colonel  Sturgis'  command  coming  in  our 


AFTER  THE  BATTLE. 

direction.     Their  services  were  not  required  and  they  were  turned  back 
toward  the  Missouri  River. 

Several  of  our  wounded  died  on  the  way  before  reaching  the  Missouri 
and  had  to  be  buried  beside  the  trail.  We  did  the  same  for  the  Indian 
wounded  who  expired  along  the  wray.  The  exquisite  satisfaction  that  is 
the  result  of  a  complete  and  valuable  victory,  thrills  the  heart  of  the  sol- 
dier and  fills  him  with  the  most  delightful  sensations  that  man  can  enjoy 
but  is  changed  to  the  deepest  gloom  as  he  witnesses  the  terrible  sacrifices 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  277 

of  his  comrades,  far  away  in  a  weird  and  lonely  land,  skirting  along  the 
base  of  cold  and  cheerless  mountains.  Far  from  his  loved  ones,  far  from 
home,  the  wounded  soldier,  enduring  while  he  lives  intense  pain,  finally 
offers  up  his  precious  life  as  a  sacrifice  to  duty  and  to  his  country.  Equally 
melancholy  were  the  scenes  around  the  burial  place  of  some  Indian  war- 
rior who  had  been  considered  a  pillar  of  his  tribe  and  his  race,  the  entire 
Indian  camp  enumerating  his  virtues,  praising  his  prowess,  chanting  his 
requiem  and  bewailing  his  loss. 

On  reaching  the  Missouri  River  as  many  of  the  wounded  as  possible 
were  sent  down  on  the  steamer  that  had  brought  up  an  abundance  of  sup- 
plies for  all  the  commands  in  response  to  my  despatches  sent  on  the  night 
of  September  17.  Crossing  the  Missouri  the  march  was  continued  for 
several  days  over  the  trail  we  had  made  in  coming  up,  until  we  reached  the 
Yellowstone.  As  the  force  moved  across  the  rolling  prairie  it  appeared 
like  a  great  caravan.  There  were  three  battalions  of  well-equipped,  hardy, 
resolute  soldiers,  with  artillery,  besides  upward  of  four  hundred  prisoners; 
and  on  the  opposite  flank,  some  distance  away,  were  driven  over  six  hun- 
dred of  the  captured  stock,  while  in  the  rear  were  the  travois  and  ambu- 
lances, bearing  the  wounded,  followed  by  the  pack-trains  and  wagon 
trains,  and  all  covered  by  advance  guards,  flankers,  and  rear  guards. 

At  the  cantonment,  now  Fort  Keogh,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Yellow- 
stone, the  news  of  our  movements  and  successes  had  preceded  us  by  several 
days.  As  soon  as  the  Nez  Perces  had  surrendered,  I  called  up  the  chiefs  of 
our  friendly  Cheyennes  and  Sioux  and  complimented  them  on  their  loyalty 
and  courage.  They  were  thirty  in  number,  under  the  command  of  Hump, 
White  Bull  and  Brave  Wolf.  I  have  previously  mentioned  their  transfor- 
mation from  listless  flankers  to  a  spirited  and  brave  advance  guard  as  we 
approached  the  enemy,  and  they  had  throughout  the  engagement  rendered 
the  most  valuable  services.  On  their  swift  ponies  they  had  dashed  down 
the  valley  and  aided  the  soldiers  in  stampeding  the  Nez  Perce  herd,  chas- 
ing them  and  rounding  them  up  at  convenient  points,  and  had  then  re- 
turned to  the  left  of  the  line  encircling  the  camp  where  the  most  des- 
perate fighting  was  going  on.  Hump  killed  two  Nez  Perces  with  his  own 
hands,  and  was  severely  wounded  himself.  They  maintained  their  posi- 
tion with  remarkable  fortitude  and  discharged  all  the  duties  required  of 
them  during  the  five  days  siege.  At  its  close  I  directed  the  officer  in  charge 
of  the  Nez  Perce  herd  to  give  each  of  them  five  ponies  as  a  reward  for  their 
gallant  service.  In  selecting  these  one  hundred  and  fifty  animals  it  is  fair 
to  presume  that  they  did  not  choose  any  of  the  second  class. 


278  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

As  an  illustration  of  their  endurance  when  in  full  strength  and  good 
condition  for  the  field  or  the  chase,  it  may  be  said  that  these  Indians  with 
their  wounded  (Hump  being  shot  through  the  body  and  another  Indian, 
White  Wolf,  having  part  of  his  skull  carried  away  so  that  the  surgeon  look- 
ing into  the  wound  could  see  a  portion  of  his  brain)  and  their  captured  herd 
of  horses,  made  a  rapid  march  of  nearly  two  hundred  miles,  swimming  both 
the  Missouri  and  the  Yellowstone,  and  arrived  at  the  cantonment  some  four 
days  in  advance  of  the  command. 

The  arrival  of  this  body  of  Indians  at  the  cantonment  under  the  cir- 
cumstances created  the  greatest  consternation  in  the  families  of  the 
officers  and  soldiers  and  among  the  other  people  who  had  remained  at  the 
garrison.  They  came  in  shouting  and  crying  the  results  of  their  prowess 
and  their  victory.  They  were  painted  in  gorgeous  colors  to  indicate  their 
rejoicing.  And  yet,  as  they  were  several  hours  in  advance  of  the  interpre- 
ter, it  was  impossible  for  them  to  make  known  to  the  anxious  assembly 
that  gathered  about  them,  the  results  of  the  battle.  It  was  only  known 
by  their  having  the  Nez  Perce  stock  that  they  had  been  in  an  engage- 
ment. They  made  signs  that  two  of  the  officers  were  dead  and  several 
wounded,  and  they  also  made  signs  that  the  big  chief  was  all  right,  to  the 
great  delight  of  my  wife  and  little  daughter,  yet  for  several  hours  the 
other  officers'  families  were  in  great  distress  and  full  of  anxiety  to  learn 
what  two  officers  had  been  killed,  and  it  was  not  until  three  or  four  hours 
later  when  the  interpreter,  John  Brughier,  arrived,  that  they  could  be  in- 
formed. Although  a  good  rider,  Brughier  had  not  been  able  to  keep  up 
with  the  pace  of  the  Indians.  When  he  did  arrive  he  announced  that  the 
two  officers  were  the  two  bachelors,  Hale  and  Biddle,  and  also  gave  the 
names  of  the  others  who  had  been  killed  and  wounded.  There  were  then 
three  days  of  anxious  waiting  for  the  returning  command. 

On  the  fourth  day  it  made  its  appearance  on  the  high  bluffs  to  the  west, 
slowly  approaching  the  edge  of  the  mesa  and  descending  along  the  wind- 
ing trail  down  to  the  ferry  which  crossed  the  Yellowstone  at  the  point 
where  twenty-seven  days  before  it  had  climbed  the  steep  in  the  darkness 
of  the  night  and  the  gray  of  the  morning  of  September  18.  The  families 
of  the  officers  and  soldiers  and  all  the  other  people  at  the  garrison,  includ- 
ing the  band  of  the  Fifth  Infantry,  citizens  and  Indians,  lined  the  bank 
of  the  Yellowstone;  and  as  some  of  the  principal  officers,  including  myself 
together  with  Chief  Joseph  and  one  or  two  of  the  principal  Indians, 
stepped  into  the  boat,  and  it  moved  from  the  northern  shore,  the  band 
struck  up  "  Hail  to  the  Chief."  and  then  as  we  neared  the  other  shore,  it 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


279 


\ 


suddenly  changed  to  "0,  no!  no!  not  for  Joseph,"  which  it  played  for  a 
short  time,  and  then  went  back  to  the  former  strain. 

The  Nez  Perce  Indians  were  given  a  comfortable  camp  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Yellowstone,  and  it  was  my  purpose  to  keep  them  there  dur- 
ing the  winter  and  send  them  back  to  Idaho  in  the  spring.     They  were  a 
very  bright  and  energetic  body  of  Indians;  indeed  the  most  intelligent  that 
I  have  ever  seen.     Exceedingly  self-reliant,  each  individual  man  seemed 
to  be  able  to  do  his  own  thinking,  and  to  be  purely  democratic  and  inde- 
pendent in  his  ideas 
and    purposes.      It 
was  my  opinion  that 
if  they  were  justly 
treated   they   could 
be  made  a  loyal  and 
useful  people.  They 
remained    in  that 
place   for  ten   days 
or  two  weeks,  when 
I  received  an  order 
from  the  higher  au- 
thorities   to    send 
them  down  the  river  to  Bis- 
marck, Dakota.      They   were 
therefore  placed  in  boats  and 
sent  down  the  Yellowstone  to 
its  junction  with  the  Missouri, 
thence   down  the  Missouri  to 
Bismarck. 

In    passing     the    Mandan 
agency  on  this  journey,  a  sin- 

"  THOSE  INDIANS  ARE  BAD."  gular  incident  occurred.     The 

officer  in  charge  stopped  at  that  agency  for  two  hours  to  get  some 
supplies  he  required,  and  during  that  time  the  Nez  Perces  had  great 
curiosity  to  see  the  Mandans;  and  the  Mandans  in  their  turn,  had 
heard  much  about  the  Nez  Perces,  and  were  equally  anxious  to  see  these 
people  of  a  different  tribe,  from  a  distant  part  of  the  country,  and  yet  of 
the  same  race.  Among  the  Nez  Perces  was  an  old  Indian  nearly 
seventy  years  of  age,  who  had  been  named  "George  Washington,"  possibly 
on  the  presumption  that  he  and  the  Father  of  his  Country  possessed  at 


280  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

least  one  characteristic  in  common,  and  if  so,  in  this  instance  he  certainly 
maintained  that  reputation.  After  leaving  the  Mandan  agency  and  con- 
tinuing down  the  river,  this  old  man  said  to  the  officer  in  charge,  "  Those 
Mandans  back  there  are  bad  Indians."  The  officer  asked  him  why,  and  he 
replied,  "Because  they  stole  two  Nez  Perce  blankets."  Now,  in  their  tre- 
mendous march  of  nearly  a  thousand  miles,  together  with  the  severe 
engagements  in  which  they  had  taken  part,  the  Nez  Perces  had  lost  nearly 
everything.  Therefore  the  officer  could  not  help  thinking  how  much  they 
needed  the  blankets  in  the  approaching  cold  winter,  and  accordingly  ex- 
pressed much  sympathy,  though  of  course  it  was  impossible  to  turn  back 
up  the  stream  to  recover  them.  Finally,  after  giving  his  strong  condem- 
nation of  the  theft,  it  occurred  to  him  to  ask  George  Washington  if  the 
Nez  Perces  had  taken  anything  belonging  to  the  Mandans.  "0,  yes,"  he 
responded,  "  we  got  away  with  four  buffalo  robes."  So  it  seems  the  Man- 
dans  were  not  the  only  bad  Indians,  according  to  his  own  standard. 

From  Bismarck  they  were  ordered  to  be  sent  to  Fort  Leavenworth. 
Kansas,  where  they  remained  during  the  winter,  and  in  the  spring  they 
were  sent  to  the  Indian  Territory.  They  remained  there  for  a  few  years, 
and  the  low  malarial  district  and  climate  in  which  they  lived  caused  sad 
havoc  in  their  ranks.  In  a  short  time  they  had  lost  nearly  fifty  per  cent, 
of  their  number  by  death.  I  frequently  and  persistently  for  seven  long 
years  urged  that  they  be  sent  home  to  their  own  country,  but  not  until 
1884,  when  I  was  in  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Columbia,  did  1 
succeed  in  having  them  returned  west  of  the  mountains  to  near  their  own 
country,  where  they  have  remained  at  peace  ever  since. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  283 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
A  VISIT  TO  OUSTER'S  LAST  BATTLEFIELD. 

A  SEASON  OF  QUIET  —  THE  CROW  INDIAN  CAMP  —  AN  INDIAN  FIELD  DAY  —  COLORS  AND  DISGUISES 

OF  THK  INDIAN   WARRIOR  AND  HUNTER — AN   INDIAN  SHAM  BATTLE  —  JOURNEY   TO  THE 

OUSTER  BATTLEGROUND — INDIAN  EXPLANATION  OP  THE   FIGHT — NATURE  OF 

THE  GROUND  AND  THE  DISPOSITION  AND  MOVEMENTS  OP  OUSTER'S 

COMMAND  —  WHY     THE      BATTLE  WAS     LOST. 

S  the  Sioux  Indians  had  now,  during  the  spring  of  1878,  been 
cleared  out  of  that  vast  country  in  which  they  had  so  long 
been  accustomed  to  roam,  I  took  advantage  of  the  period  of 
peace  and  quiet  and  organized  a  small  expedition  to  move  up 
the  Yellowstone  from  the  cantonment,  or  Fort  Keogh  (as  it 
will  hereafter  be  called),  to  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn.  I  had 
with  me  several  officers  and  one  troop  of  cavalry  as  an  escort. 

At  the  junction  of  the  Big  Horn  and  Yellowstone  we  found 
a  very  large  camp  of  Crow  Indians.  In  fact  the  whole  Crow  tribe 
had  gathered  there,  some  seven  hundred  lodges,  numbering  thirty-five 
hundred  people.  The  Crows  were  very  rich  in  horses;  it  was  estimated  that 
at  that  time  they  had  some  fifteen  thousand.  They  had  been  from  time 
immemorial  bitter  enemies  of  the  Dakota  Indians.  These  ancient  antag- 
onists had  constantly  raided  each  other's  territory,  had  stolen  horses,  and 
had  committed  depredations  upon  each  other  whenever  possible.  The 
Dakotas,  however,  had  always  had  the  greater  advantage  in  superior  num- 
bers and  fighting  qualities,  and  in  the  course  of  years  they  had  driven  the 
Crows  back  into  the  recesses  of  the  Rocky  mountains  as  their  only  safe  re- 
treat. Having  heard  of  the  successes  of  our  troops  during  the  winter  and 
spring  campaigns,  the  Crows  were  overjoyed  that  their  hereditary  enemy 
had  been  driven  out  of  the  country  or  forced  to  surrender  to  the  United 
States  authorities.  They  looked  upon  any  one  who  could  conquer  the 
Sioux  with  a  feeling  of  awe  and  profound  reverence,  and  learning  that  we 
were  about  to  pass  near  their  camp,  they  desired  to  celebrate  with  bar- 
baric splendor  our  victory  over  the  Sioux  and  our  presence  with  them. 
Having  solicited  our  permission  for  the  display,  they  informed  me  that  it 
would  be  necessary  that  at  least  three  days  should  be  given  to  preparing 


284 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


their  camp  to  properly  receive  us  and  pay  the  homage  they  desired  to 
render. 

As  we  were  moving  leisurely  up  the  Yellowstone,  going  by  easy 
marches  and  enjoying  the  beautiful  scenery,  it  was  quite  practicable  to 
comply  with  their  wishes.  The  country  was  covered  with  an  abundance 
of  rich  green  verdure,  the  trees  were  in  full  foliage  and  the  wild  flowers  and 
birds  were  numerous;  we,  therefore,  decided  to  camp  on  the  banks  of  the 
Yellowstone  where  we  could  enjoy  excellent  fishing  and  bathing,  and  at 
the  same  time  accept  the  hospitality  of  the  Crows  and  witness  a  fete  given 
according  to  their  ideas  of  magnificence. 

During  these  three  days  they  sent  out  into  the  hills  and  adjacent 
country  for  their  best  ^  war  horses,  and 

much  of  the  time  was  spent  in  decorating 


themselves  and  their 
horses   with    all   the 
splendor  that  savage 
ingenuity  could  sug- 
gest.    In  the   afternoon 
take  position   near  the 
ceremony,  which  commenced 


INDIAN  GALA  DAY. 


of  the  third  day  the  officers  were  invited  to 
center  of  the  camp  and  witness  the  imposing 
by  the  assembling  of  all  the  principal 
warriors  on  a  great  plain  between  the  camp  and  the  distant  bluffs.  They 
were  fully  up  to  expectations  in  the  most  gorgeous  equipments  that  it  was 
possible  for  them  to  display,  and  being  a  rich  tribe  their  blankets,  feather, 
shell,  porcupine  and  bead-work,  were  of  the  most  extravagant  order. 

At  a  signal  given  by  firing  a  rifle,  the  whole  body  of  warriors  shouted 
and  moved  forward,  following  their  leader  in  columns  of  twos  with  fail- 
military  precision  toward  the  end  of  the  camp,  thence  toward  the  center 
and  passing  out  at  the  opposite  end.  As  they  passed  through  the  camp 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  285 

the  horses  were  careering  and  prancing,  and  the  men  were  shouting,  sing- 
ing war  songs  and  firing  their  rifles  in  the  air.  It  was  a  wild  and  pictur- 
esque scene,  and  as  they  passed  in  review  before  the  head  chief,  Black 
Foot  and  myself,  we  were  saluted  with  every  mark  of  respect. 

In  all  my  experience  with  Indians  I  have  never  seen  such  a  display  of 
decorations.  The  men  were  painted,  and  ornamented  with  the  most  bril- 
liant feather-work.  Their  eagle  headdresses  were  waving  in  the  air. 
Bear-claw  necklaces  hung  about  their  necks  and  scalp  locks  adorned  their 
spears.  Their  war  jackets  were  bespangled  with  glittering  pieces  of  flash- 
ing silver,  elk  teeth  and  mother-of-pearl,  and  one  of  the  singular  features 
of  the  display  consisted  in  the  fact  that  in  the  whole  number  there  were 
no  two  Indians  decked  alike.  They  did  not  copy  or  duplicate,  and  all  their 
work  was  of  original  design.  The  colors  were  of  the  strongest  and  most 
durable  character.  Many  of  the  war  jackets  could  hardly  have  been  pur- 
chased at  any  price,  each  one  being  the  result  of  almost  the  work  of  a  life- 
time. The  eagle  feathers,  the  porcupine  work,  the  bear-claw  necklaces 
and  the  scalp  locks  of  their  enemies,  were  evidences  of  their  wealth  as  well 
as  their  prowess  in  war  and  the  chase.  Their  ponies  were  painted  with 
ingenious  and  curious  characters,  and  bedecked  with  hawk's  feathers  and 
horsehair  ornaments  even  to  the  very  tips  of  their  ears. 

There  was  also  a  display  of  their  ingenuity  in  disguises,  which  was 
most  remarkable.  I  noticed  a  man  passing  along  not  more  than  two  hun- 
dred yards  away,  distinctly  outlined  against  a  background  of  blue-green 
sage  brush.  As  he  came  nearer,  to  my  surprise  there  came  into  view,  rid- 
ing by  his  side,  a  companion  with  scarcely  a  particle  of  clothing,  his  entire 
person,  face,  body,  arms  and  hair,  as  well  as  the  whole  body  of  his  horse, 
being  painted  exactly  the  color  of  the  sage  brush.  This  was  done  evi- 
dently to  show  his  skill  as  a  hunter  in  disguising  himself  and  his  horse, 
and  his  artistic  talent  in  the  use  of  their  native  colors  and  paints.  Many 
similar  disguises  of  horse  and  rider  were  exhibited  and  there  was  no  hyp- 
notism, but  genuine,  ingenious  and  artistic  deception. 

As  the  procession  moved  on  it  evidently  excited  the  admiration  and 
pride  of  the  entire  Indian  camp,  as  well  as  gratified  the  curiosity  of  the 
officers  and  soldiers  who  beheld  it.  I  thought  at  the  time  how  unfortunate 
it  was  that  there  was  not  present  some  photographer  or  artist  who  could 
have  given  us  an  exact  photograph  of  the  scene  or  have  placed  it  upon 
enduring  canvas. 

Going  on  to  the  end  of  their  camp,  they  turned  and  again  moved  out  on 
the  prairie,  where  they  separated  into  two  large  bodies,  which  took  position 


286  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

about  a  thousand  yards  apart  and  facing  each  other.  Then,  at  a  given 
signal  from  the  chief,  they  both  dashed  forward  in  sham  battle,  giving  one 
of  the  most  perfect  portrayals  of  a  real  combat  I  have  ever  witnessed. 
Discharging  their  rifles  in  the  air  with  great  rapidity  and  skill,  they  went 
through  various  evolutions  of  an  Indian  battle  with  wonderful  rapidity 
and  spirit.  Some  pretended  to  be  thrown  from  their  horses  and  were 
picked  up  from  the  ground  by  their  comrades  and  carried  away;  others 
personated  the  wounded  and  dead.  The  sham  combat  lasted  for  probably 
half  an  hour  and  was  of  absorbing  interest  to  the  lookers  on. 

Later  we  talked  with  Curley,  a  young  Crow  warrior,  who  had  been  with 
Ouster's  command  up  to  the  opening  of  his  last  battle,  and  was  the  only 
one  who  escaped.  All  that  could  be  learned  from  him  was  that  he  left  very 
early  in  the  fight,  and  he  evidently  knew  nothing  of  the  details  of  the 
engagement. 

From  this  camp  we  moved  on  up  the  Big  Horn  to  the  junction  of  that 
stream  with  the  Little  Big  Horn,  where  the  military  post  of  Fort  Custer 
is  now  located;  thence  up  the  valley  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  to  the  scene  of 
the  Custer  massacre.  Here  we  camped  for  several  days  and  made  a  full 
examination  of  the  ground.  To  assist  in  this  we  had  arranged  to  be  joined 
here  by  twenty-five  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  Sioux  and  Cheyenne 
warriors  who  had  surrendered  to  us  in  the  month  of  February,  1877. 
accompanied  by  an  officer  in  charge.  They  had  become  thoroughly  recon- 
ciled to  their  new  mode  of  life,  and  were  evidently  quite  determined  to 
remain  loyal  to  the  government  and  entirely  peaceable.  Some  of  them 
had  rendered  good  service  in  the  capture  of  Lame  Deer's  camp,  and  they  were 
all  animated  by  a  feeling  of  strong  confidence,  so  that  they  talked  freely  as 
to  their  past  history,  and  were  willing  to  give  us  all  the  information  they 
could  about  that  most  important  event  of  their  lives,  the  battle  that  had 
occurred  on  this  ground  just  two  years  before.  The  engagement  and 
massacre  had  occurred  in  June,  1876,  and  we  were  now  encamped  there  in 
June,  1878,  for  the  purpose  of  going  carefully  over  the  entire  field. 

The  Indians  who  went  over  the  ground  with  me  explained  the  fight  in 
this  way.  They  stated  that  when  the  alarm  was  given  it  was  understood 
that  the  troops  were  attacking  the  upper  end  of  the  village.  This  was  the 
attack  by  Reno's  command.  Then  the  warriors  rushed  for  their  arms  and 
ran  out  on  the  plains  to  secure  their  war  horses.  After  mounting  they 
assembled  out  on  the  mesa,  some  five  hundred  yards  from  the  Little  Big 
Horn.  The  Indians  in  the  upper  end  of  the  village,  and  the  first  in 
engaging  Reno's  troops,  were  chiefly  Uncpapas  and  Ogalallas,  and  they 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


287 


state  that  when  the  troops  left  their  position  and  ran  out  of  the  shelter  of 
the  timber,  they  pursued  them  as  they  would  a  herd  of  buffaloes.  They 
pointed  out  the  place  a  short  distance  from  the  timber  where  they  killed 
the  first  soldier,  who  had,  as  they  said,  a  "large  yellow  stripe  down  the 
side  of  his  trousers."  This  meant  that  the  first  man 
they  killed  was  a  sergeant  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry. 
They  then  pointed  out  the  places  where  they  had 
killed  others  as  they  were  crossing  the  plain,  fording 
the  river,  or  ascending  the  bluffs. 

Just  as  they  had  followed  Reno's  command  up  the 
bluffs  and   into   Benteen's   command,  the  alarm   was 
raised  that  other  troops  were  attacking  the  center  of 
the  village.     This  was  Ouster's  command,  and  it  was 
engaging  the  Minneconjoux  and  the  Sans  Arcs.     As 
the  Indians  tell  the  story,  this  was  a  stand-off  fight 
—give  and  take.     The  Uncpapas  and  Ogalallas 
had   mostly   crossed  the   Little  Big  Horn,   and 
had  gone  up  on  the  hill,  following  Reno's  com- 
mand when    this  alarm  was  given.     Then  they 
left  Reno  and  went  to  the   protection  of  their 
camp,   moving  down  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Little  Big  Horn  to  do  so. 

The  Cheyennes  were  encamped  at  the  extreme 
lower  end  of  the  village,  and  did  not  get  up  in 
time  to  take  part  in  the  pursuit  of  Reno's  troops 
before  the  report  of  this  attack  on  the  center 
of  the  village  was  received.  These  did  not, 
therefore,  cross  the  Little  Big  Horn  with  the 
others,  but  when  they  returned,  moved  down  on  the  same  side  up  which  they 
had  previously  gone,  passing  through  the  village  to  the  extreme  lower  end, 
and  then  crossing  the  stream,  they  took  position  on  the  left  of  the  Minne- 
conjoux and  San  Arcs,  and  attacked  the  right  flank  of  Ouster's  command. 
The  Ogalallas  and  Uncpapas  that  had  moved  down  on  the  right  bank,  as 
stated,  took  position  on  the  right  of  the  Minneconjoux.  and  massed  in  the 
low  ground  near  the  left  of  Ouster's  line,  held  by  Lieutenants  Calhoun  and 
Crittenden. 

Here  for  some  time  it  was  an  even  contest.  It  must  have  lasted  at 
least  two  hours  according  to  the  report  of  firing  heard  by  the  men  of 
Reno's  command,  and  the  statements  of  the  Indians.  As  they  say,  it  was 

M — 17 


CURLEY,  SOLE  SURVIVOR  OF  CUSTKI 
LAST  BATTLE. 


288 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


an  even  fight  until  they  had  massed  on  the  left  of  Caster's  command  and 
made  a  charge  which  turned  the  left  of  his  line.  They  then  swept  down 
from  the  left  to  the  right,  rolling  his  command  up  in  confusion  and  de- 
struction. As  the  right  of  the  line  was  reached,  those  who  had  not  been 


OUSTER'S  LAST  STAND. 


killed  let  go  their  horses,  and  the  Cheyennes  report  that  they  captured 
most  of  these.  Many  of  the  horses  on  the  right  of  the  line,  including  the 
gray  troop,  had  been  killed  by  the  soldiers  and  their  bodies  used  as  a  pro- 
tection from  behind  which  to  continue  the  fight.  The  Indians  say  that 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  289 

the  light  was  kept  up  until  all  the  troops  were  killed  or  disabled  except 
about  forty  men  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  line.  These,  as  a  last  resort, 
suddenly  rose  and  made  a  rush  toward  the  timber,  skirting  the  bank  of  the 
Little  Big  Horn,  a  distance  of  two  hundred  yards,  approximately.  This 
was  evidently  a  forlorn  hope,  as  the  fire  was  then  so  hot  from  all  direc- 
tions that  they  realized  that  it  was  only  a  question  of  a  short  time  when 
they  must  all  be  killed  if  they  remained  where  they  were.  The  Indians 
state  that  as  these  men  rushed  toward  the  timber  they  first  started  in  the 
direction  of  a  small  ravine,  but  as  the  fire  was  so  hot  from  the  position 
that  the  Cheyennes  had  taken  up,  they  swerved  toward  the  head  of  a 
neighboring  ravine.  But  the  Indians  killed  the  last  one  before  he  reached 
the  timber.  The  graves  of  these  men  to-day  confirm  this  account  of  that 
part  of  the  tragedy,  and  the  fact  that  there  were  no  horses  found  along 
this  line  of  bodies  indicates  that  their  version  of  it  is  correct,  and  that 
Ouster  and  his  command  never  went  down  that  ravine. 

The  distance  across  the  valley  from  the  position  first  occupied  by  Reno, 
where  Ouster  undoubtedly  expected  him  to  remain,  and  the  position  where 
Ouster's  command  fought,  is  not  more  than  two  miles.  In  fact  one  is  in 
plain  sight  from  the  other.  Rifle  shots  from  one  would  cross  the  line  of 
fire  of  the  other.  In  other  words,  any  enemy  between  the  two  commands 
would  have  been  under  the  fire  of  both.  Had  Reno  remained  in  that  posi- 
tion, it  would  have  enabled  Benteen  to  "come  on"  and  "be  quick"  as  he 
had  been  ordered  and  as  he  was  doing.  It  would  have  brought  him  into 
position  and  into  action  between  the  two  commands  of  Ouster  and  Reno. 
The  only  difference  in  the  original  formation  would  have  been  that  Reno's 
and  Benteen's  commands  would  have  exchanged  places,  and  Benteen's  com- 
mand would  have  been  in  the  center  instead  of  on  the  left. 

When  asked  what  would  have  been  the  result  if  Reno  had  not  retreated, 
the  Indians  frankly  said  that  if  he  had  not  run,  they  would  have  fled. 
They  were  also  asked  what  the  consequences  would  have  been  if  Reno  with 
the  seven  troops  had  followed  the  Uncpapas  and  Ogalailas  when  they  turned 
and  went  down  to  the  assistance  of  the  Indians  in  the  village,  and  they 
candidly  admitted  that  they  would  have  been  between  two  fires.  la  other 
words  the  battle  was  lost  twice,  not  by  the  action  of  Ouster,  however,  for 
his  command  fought  gallantly  as  long  as  it  lasted,  and  he  had  given  proper 
and  judicious  orders  to  the  other  commands. 

It  is  not  expected  that  five  troops  could  have  whipped  that  body  of  In- 
dians, neither  is  it  believed  that  that  body  of  Indians  could  have  whipped 
twelve  troops  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry  under  Ouster's  command,  or  if  his 


290  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

orders  had  been  properly  executed.  The  fact  that  after  Ouster's  five 
troops  had  been  annihilated,  the  Indians  who  came  back  and  engaged  the 
seven  troops  were  repulsed,  and  that  they  failed  to  dislodge  these  troops, 
is  proof  that  the  force  was  amply  strong,  if  it  had  only  acted  in  full  con- 
cert. No  commanding  officer  can  win  victories  with  seven-twelfths  of  his 
command  remaining  out  of  the  engagement  when  within  sound  of  his  rifle- 
shots. Grouchy  did  not  come  up  to  the  "  sound  of  the  guns,"  but  Blucher 
did;  and  the  historic  Waterloo  was  the  result. 

The  distance  from  where  the  running  Reno  halted  and  kept  the  seven 
troops  and  the  reserve  ammunition,  to  the  extreme  right  of  Ouster's  com- 
mand was  about  four  miles.  A  cavalry  horse  walked  that  distance  in  fifty- 
eight  minutes.  At  a  smart  trot  or  gallop,  as  a  cavalryman  goes  into  action, 
fifteen  minutes  would  have  brought  the  whole  command  into  the  engage- 
ment and  the  result  might  have  been  entirely  different.  This  we  proved 
on  that  same  ground  by  the  actual  test  of  moving  our  horses  over  it,  and 
timing  them  by  the  watch. 

As  the  lips  of  Ouster  and  those  who  died  with  him  are  forever  sealed, 
and  since  there  was  no  official  investigation  of  all  the  circumstances  that 
resulted  in  such  a  terrible  disaster,  it  is  but  charity  to  withhold  any  severe 
criticism  upon  so  gallant  and  distinguished  an  officer  with  such  a  brilliant 
record  as  he  had  made  in  successfully  handling  large  bodies  of  troops  dur- 
ing the  great  war.  It  is  one  of  the  saddest  and  greatest  sacrifices  that  was 
ever  made  by  heroic  men  on  any  battlefield.  No  man  of  military  knowl- 
edge in  riding  over  this  field  now,  and  examining  the  position  that  Guster 
quickly  took  upon  that  crest  commanding  the  valley,  could  fail  to  recog- 
nize the  military  ability  of  that  commander;  and  those  graves  remain  as 
monuments  to  the  fortitude  of  men  who  stood  their  ground. 

Ouster's  body  was  not  mutilated,  but  he  had  received  a  rifle  shot 
through  the  body  and  one  through  the  head. 

The  Indians  further  explained  that  after  the  fight  was  over  the  Uuc- 
papas,  who,  previous  to  the  engagement,  had  been  encamped  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  village,  struck  their  camp  at  the  advance  of  Keno's  command, 
and  afterward  went  into  camp  at  the  other  end  of  the  village,  and  pitched 
their  tents  near  the  Cheyennes,  where  they  remained  for  two  days.  Thus, 
the  impression  was  given  to  the  troops  that  afterward  went  over  the  field 
and  examined  the  camp  ground,  that  a  larger  body  of  Indians  had  camped 
there  than  was  actually  the  case,  or,  in  other  words,  there  seemed  to 
have  been  a  larger  camp  than  there  really  was.  From  such  information  as 
[  could  obtain  from  the  Indians  themselves,  the  number  of  their  warriors 


co 
uj 

z 
o 
a. 

Q 

ul 

<r 


Q. 
< 

O 


z 
o 


LL 

Z 

ul 

I 
I- 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


293 


did  not  exceed  thirty-five  hundred.  Captain  Philo  Clark,  who  subse- 
quently had  charge  of  the  surrendered  Indians,  and  could  readily  talk  the 
sign  language,  investigated  this  matter  with  great  care,  inquiring  of  the 
most  intelligent  Indians  in  each  band  of  Sioux  and  also  among  the  Chey- 
ennes.  Arapahoes,  etc..  and  he  considered  twenty-six  hundred  as  the 
maximum  number  of  warriors  in  that  affair.  At  all  events,  they  greatly 
outnumbered  Custer's  command.  Yet  this  has  been  the  case  in  many 
Indian  engagements. 


294  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
THE  BANNOCK  CAMPAIGN. 

CHANGES    WROUGHT    BY    PEACE  —  RAILROAD    SURVEYS     AND    TELEGRAPH    LIVES  —  INTERRUPTED 
JOURNEY  TO  YELLOWSTONE    PARK  —  NEWS  OF  THE   BANNOCKS —  BEGINNING  OF   THE  CAM- 
PAIGN—  THE  CROWS   AS   ALLIES  —  THE   STEALTHY   APPROACH  —  ATTACK    AND 
VICTORY  —  LOSSES — THE  RETURN — AN  INDIAN  BURIAL — JOURNEY 
TO    YELLOWSTONE    PARK     RESUMED  —  THE    MOUNTAIN- 
BUFFALO —  SCENERY  OF  THE  ROUTE  —  A  AVov- 
DERLAVD  —  FOURTEEN   YEARS   LATER. 

URING  the  autumn  and  winter  of  this  year.  1878,  active  op- 
erations were  still  suspended,  as  the  entire  country  had  been 
cleared  for  the  second  time  of  hostile  Indians.  The  spring 
had  opened  early  and  delightfully.  Fort  Keogh  had  now 
taken  the  place  of  the  temporary  cantonment,  and  Fort 
Custer  had  been  built  at  the  junction  of  the  Little  Big  Horn 
and  the  Big  Horn  Rivers.  The  valleys  of  the  Yellowstone, 
the  Tongue,  the  Rosebud,  and  the  Powder  Rivers  were  being  rapidly 
occupied  by  settlers,  and  mail  routes  were  being  established.  The 
mails  arrived  and  departed  at  first  once  a  week  and  afterward  tri- 
weekly. Railroad  surveys  were  made  for  the  construction  of  the  North- 
ern Pacific  Railway.  Military  telegraph  lines  were  established  from 
Fort  Keogh  eastward  three  hundred  miles  to  Bismarck,  Dakota,  south- 
east two  hundred  miles  to  Deadwood,  Dakota,  in  the  Black  Hills,  and  west 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  Fort  Ellis  in  Montana,  where  the  line  com- 
municated with  others  running  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  In  constructing  these 
military  lines  it  was  somewhat  singular  to  see  soldiers  mounted  on  captured 
Indian  ponies,  riding  rapidly  from  point  to  point,  raising  telegraph  poles, 
stretching  telegraph  wires,  and  thereby  opening  communication  with  the 
outer  world.  In  this  progressive  work  they  used  the  same  means  of  transit 
the  Indians  had  used  in  obstructing  the  onward  march  of  civilization. 

In  the  summer  of  1878,  taking  advantage  of  the  period  of  rest  and 
quiet,  I  organized  an  expedition  to  establish  a  wagon  route  and  telegraph 
line  west  of  Fort  Keogh,  to  reconnoitre  the  country,  and  also  to  visit  the 
Yellowstone  Park.  I  selected  a  command  from  among  the  most  experienced 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  295 

veterans  of  the  Indian  Territory  and  the  Northwest  campaigns,  and  then 
with  a  strong  wagon-train,  a  well-equipped  pack-train,  and  all  the  appli- 
ances, camp  equipage  and  field  equipment  necessary,  we  leisurely  moved 
up  the  Yellowstone  Valley.  The  party  consisted  of  ten  officers,  four  civil- 
ians, five  ladies,  three  children,  including  my  family,  and  one  hundred 
soldiers. 

We  moved  up  the  Yellowstone  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rosebud,  and  thence 
up  that  beautiful  valley  to  its  head,  practically  going  over  the  same  route 
that  had  been  followed  by  Ouster's  command;  thence  over  the  high  divide 
to  the  Little  Big  Horn,  camping  near  the  ground  where  the  massacre  oc- 
curred, and  making  a  second  examination  of  this,  and  of  the  topography 
of  the  country  and  the  distance  between  the  different  forces  as  they  were 
on  that  day.  In  this  second  examination  we  were  also  accompanied  by 
some  of  the  prominent  actors  in  that  tragedy  on  the  side  of  the  hostile 
Indians. 

Moving  up  the  Yellowstone   was  a  continuous  delight.     The   country 
was    covered    with    rich    verdure    and    the    trees    were  in  full  foliage 
Game  was  abundant,  and  the  waters  of  the  upper  Yellowstone  were  filled 
with  delicious  trout.     The  officers  rode  on  horseback,  and  the  ladies  and 
children,  occasionally  in  wagons,  but  more  frequently  in  the  saddle. 

After  ten  or  twelve  days  march,  as  we  neared  the  Yellowstone  Park,  I 
received  information  that  the  Bannocks,  who  had  gone  on  the  warpath  in 
Idaho,  were  committing  depredations,  and  were  coming  through  the  Yel- 
lowstone Park,  threatening  to  invade  our  own  territory.  Of  course  this 
meant  devastation  to  the  settlements  of  our  district  of  country  and  serious 
action  for  ourselves,  and  I  at  once  prepared  to  check  any  such  invasion. 

Sending  the  non-combatants  of  our  party  to  the  nearest  military  post, 
Fort  Ellis,  a  short  distance  from  where  Bozeman  now  stands  and  im- 
mediately adjoining  the  National  Park,  I  started  with  seventy-five  men  to 
make  a  forced  march  and  occupy  the  passes  of  the  mountains  through 
which  it  was  natural  to  suppose  the  Bannocks  would  attempt  to  go  on 
their  way  east.  It  had  been  their  habit  to  come  through  the  mountains 
during  the  summer  season  to  trade  with  the  Crow  Indians  or  to  hunt  buf- 
faloes. There  were  two  passes  through  which  they  could  travel,  one  of 
which  was  known  as  the  Boulder  Pass,  a  very  rough  and  difficult  trail,  and 
the  other  was  Clark's  Fork  Pass,  situated  a  distance  of  approximately  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  miles  from  our  starting  point.  In  order  to  anticipate 
every  possible  contingency,  it  became  necessary  for  me  to  divide  my  small 
force.  Believing  that  they  would  be  less  likely  to  come  out  through 


296  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

the  Boulder  than  through  Clark's  Fork  Pass,  I  sent  Lieutenant  Bailey  with 
forty  men  to  occupy  the  former  position,  while  with  the  remainder  of  the 
men  I  proceeded  to  make  a  forced  march  to  Clark's  Fork  Pass. 

I  had  already  sent  forward  scouts  to  the  Crow  agency,  urging  the  Crow 
Indians  to  join  us  in  the  expedition  against  the  Bannocks.  The  Crows  had 
always  been  loyal  to  the  government  and  friendly  to  the  whites,  but  as  at 
the  same  time  they  had  also  been  friendly  with  the  Bannock  Indians,  they 
hesitated  about  going  against  them.  The  importance  of  arresting  any 
hostile  body  of  Indians  liable  to  commit  depredations  on  other  reserva- 
tions and  neighboring  settlements  was  explained  to  them.  They  were  also 
offered  rations  and  ammunition  and  all  the  stock  that  they  could  capture 
from  the  Bannocks.  In  consideration  of  these  inducements,  they  agreed 
with  the  scout  that  I  had  sent  forward,  to  go  on  the  arrival  of  the  com- 
mand. When  we  did  arrive,  seeing  the  small  body  of  thirty-five  men 
march  past,  they  inquired  how  soon  the  command  would  arrive.  They 
were  assured  that  although  this  was  the  only  command  we  had,  it  was 
composed  entirely  of  experienced  Indian  fighters,  that  every  man  in  it 
was  a  "medicine"  man,  and  that  we  needed  no  greater  force  than  this 
against  the  Bannocks.  But  in  spite  of  all  we  could  say,  they  decided  that 
they  would  not  go  with  such  a  small  force,  and  we  told  them  to  remain 
where  they  were. 

The  command  moved  on,  and  in  the  course  of  an  hour,  two  strong  and 
hardy,  but  desperate-looking  Crow  warriors  rode  up  and  joined  us,  saying 
that  they  were  not  afraid  of  anything  (their  appearance,  words  and  actions 
seemed  to  confirm  their  professions),  and  that  they  were  going  with  the 
command.  Their  example  was  followed  by  others,  the  bravest  first  and 
the  most  prudent  and  timid  last,  until  we  had  been  joined  by  seventy-five 
Crow  warriors.  It  then  appeared  more  like  an  Indian  expedition  than  a 
march  of  white  soldiers. 

As  rapidly  as  possible  we  crossed  the  country,  taking  the  least  possible 
rest,  and  by  forced  marches  reached  the  vicinity  of  Clark's  Fork  Pass  just 
one  day  in  advance  of  the  Bannocks.  Discovering  that  up  to  that  time 
there  had  been  no  sign  of  their  presence  or  approach,  the  command  was 
concealed  in  a  pocket  in  the  mountains,  a  name  given  by  hunters  and  trap- 
pers to  a  very  small  park  surrounded  by  high  buttes  and  steep  cliffs.  The 
soldiers,  Indians,  horses,  pack-mules,  all  were  kept  concealed,  and  a  few 
scouts  only  were  sent  out  to  occupy  the  crests  of  the  high  buttes,  and  to 
use  their  field  glasses  or  telescopes  under  the  cover  of  some  cedar  or  pine 
bush,  to  discover  the  first  sign  of  the  approach  of  the  hostile  Indians. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  297 

Occasionally  an  officer  would  be  detailed  to  crawl  up  the  heights  and  examine 
the  country,  especially  Clark's  Fork  Pass,  with  his  glass.  But  he  was  in- 
structed never  to  reveal  as  much  as  the  top  of  his  head  over  the  crest 
unless  it  was  covered  by  some  bush  or  tall  grass. 

On  the  following  morning  about  eleven  o'clock  the  hostile  Bannocks 
were  seen  on  the  top  of  a  mountain,  slowly  winding  their  way  down  the 
circuitous  rocky  trail,  a  distance  of  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  us,  moving 
along  down  Clark's  Fork,  and  going  into  camp  in  the  valley  within  six  miles 
of  the  command.  They  unsaddled  and  turned  out  their  horses — quite  a  large 
herd — posted  their  videttes  or  lookouts  on  the  bluffs  immediately  adjacent 
to  the  camp,  built  their  camp  fires,  and  settled  down  apparently  confident 
of  their  safety,  and  utterly  unconscious  of  the  strong  command  concealed 
in  their  vicinity. 

To  approach  their  camp  it  would  be  necessary  to  pass  over  a  level  plain 
two  or  three  miles  in  extent,  and  the  lookouts  or  videttes  would  have 
discovered  the  command  the  moment  it  debouched  from  its  place 
of  concealment.  Having  once  discovered  us,  it  would  be  but  the  work 
of  a  moment  for  the  Indians  to  jump  upon  their  horses  and  escape  over 
the  foot-hills  and  rugged  passes  of  that  mountainous  region.  I,  therefore, 
decided  to  remain  in  our  place  of  concealment,  from  which  we  watched 
their  camp  all  that  day,  and  that  night  we  moved  slowly  down  to  within 
two  miles  of  it. 

At  nine  o'clock  that  evening  I  called  the  two  Indians  who  had  first  fol- 
lowed us  from  the  Crow  agency,  and  told  them  that  I  wanted  them  to 
crawl  up  and  discover  the  condition  of  the  Bannock  camp.  An  Indian 
wrapped  in  his  blanket  could  crawl  up  under  cover  of  the  darkness  and 
walk  near  a  hostile  Indian  camp  without  being  discovered,  whereas  a  white 
man  would  have  been  immediately  recognized.  This  was  especially  so  as 
the  night  was  dark  and  rainy,  and  the  Bannocks  were  curled  up  sheltering 
themselves  from  the  rain  and  cold,  and  if  the  Crow  scouts  had  been  seen, 
wrapped  as  they  were  in  their  blankets,  they  would  very  likely  have  been 
mistaken  for  members  of  the  Bannock  camp  walking  about  looking  out 
for  their  horses. 

The  Crow  scouts  returned  between  twelve  and  one  o'clock  and  reported 
that  the  Bannock  camp  was  in  a  very  strong  position,  difficult  to  approach, 
with  the  sage  brush  as  high  as  a  horse's  back  about  it,  and  that  if  we  at- 
tempted to  take  it  we  would  get  whipped.  The  rain  had  then  been  pour- 
ing down  in  torrents  for  several  hours  and  the  conditions  were  any  thing  but 
cheerful. 


298 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


For  this  dangerous,  hazardous  and  valuable  service,  these  two  men  were 
afterward  well  rewarded,  but  they  were  told  at  the  time  that  the  attack 
would  be  made  at  daybreak  and  the  Crows  were  expected  to  assist — at 
least  they  were  expected  to  capture  the  herd  of  horses — and  they  were 

then  directed  to  guide  us  to  the  hostile  camp. 
Slowly  and  noiselessly  the  command  moved 
in  the  direction  in  which  the  camp  was  sup- 
posed   to    be,    stopping    to 
listen  in  the  dark,  and  occa- 
sionally making  long  waits 
for  some  ray  of  light  or 
other    sign    to    direct 
them.     When  we  had 
moved  to  a  distance  that 
we  believed  would  place 
us  very  near  the  camp, 
we  halted  and  waited 
until  about  four  o'clock, 
as  we  were  not  sure  of 
its  exact  location  or  di- 
rection.   Fortunately  a 
dim  light  suddenly  ap- 
peared on  our  left,  about 

INDIANS  WATCHING  THE  ENEMY'S  CAMP.  five  hundred  yards  dis- 

tant, indicating  the  exact  locality  of  tne  camp,  and  that  we  had  almost 
passed  it. 

The  troops  were  formed  in  skirmish  line  and  the  center  directed  to 
guide  on  this  light,  which  was  evidently  caused  by  some  one  just  starting 
a  fire  for  the  morning,  and  as  good  a  line  as  could  be  arranged  in  the  dark 
was  made.  The  Crows  were  told  to  take  position  on  the  right  of  the  line. 
The  troops  moved  slowly  and  cautiously  in  the  direction  of  the  light,  pass- 
ing through  the  grazing  herd  of  horses  and  ponies.  A  halt  was  occasion- 
ally made  in  order  to  wait  until  the  troops  could  see  a  short  distance,  and 
it  was  noticed  that  as  we  passed  through  the  herd,  the  Crow  warriors  began 
to  quietly  move  off  some  of  the  Bannock  horses,  and  instead  of  remaining 
on  the  right  of  the  troops  where  they  had  been  placed,  they  gradually 
worked  to  the  left,  and  as  they  did  so  drove  the  herd  to  the  rear.  As  day 
broke  the  troops  were  able  to  see,  and  moved  forward  until  they  got  within 
a  hundred  yards  of  the  camp  before  opening  fire. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


299 


The  Indians  were  taken  completely  by  surprise.  Some  of  them  jumped 
into  the  river  and  swam  to  the  other  side.  Eleven  of  the  warriors  were 
killed  and  the  remainder  surrendered.  The  fight  lasted  but  a  short  time 
and  was  ended  by  six  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

Before  the  affair  was  over  there  was  scarcely  a  Crow  Indian,  and  not  a 
single  Bannock  horse,  to  be  seen  in  the  valley.  While  the  Crows  had  been 
useful  on  account  of  their  formidable  numbers, the  principal  objectof  their 
attention  was  the  herd  of  captured  horses.  Some  of  them  did  not  stop 
until  they  had  reached  the  agency,  a  distance  of  seventy-five  miles,  where 
they  arrived  about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Others  left  their  cap- 
tured stock  in  the  hands  of  their  friends  four  or  five  miles  back  in  the 
foot-hills,  and  returned  to  the  assistance  of  the  troops.  They  did  good 
service,  especially  in  calling  out  to  the  Bannocks  to  surrender,  and  also  in 
capturing  a  small  party  that  came  into  the  valley  later  and  were  evidently 
following  the  main  camp  with  a  band  of  stolen  horses  one  day  behind. 

I  had  sent  the  interpreter,  named  Rock,  on  in  advance  of  the  command 
from  the  Crow  agency  as  we  marched  out  to  go  up  to 
Clark's  Fork  to  see  what  he  could  find  out  about  the 
enemy.     He  could  speak  both   Crow  and  Bannock. 
When  he  had  gone  over  the  pass  and  into 
the  park,  he  met  the  Bannocks  on  the  other 
side  of  Clark's  Fork  Pass  coming  out.     After 
leaving  them  he  passed  on  as  if  journeying 
in  the  same  direction  from  whence  they  had 
come  until  he  had  gone  a  safe  distance  away, 
and  then  circled  around,  returned,  and  re- 
ported to  me  the  night  before  the  attack. 
He  was  a  good  man,  and,  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
was  killed  in  the  fight. 

The  affair  was  a  very  disastrous  one  to  the 
Indians,  eleven  of  their  number  being  killed 
and  many  wounded,  while  their  entire  camp 
was  captured  with  two  hundred  and  fifty 
horses. 

Our  loss  was  small  in  number,  but  among 
the  killed  was  Captain  Andrew  S.  Bennett  of  the  Fifth  Infantry,  a  most 
accomplished,  meritorious  and  valuable  officer.  It  was  a  sad  sight  as  his 
friends  gazed  upon  his  dead  body  which  Surgeon  Redd  had  placed  against 
a  tree,  with  the  shoulders  bare,  in  order  to  examine  the  wound.  The  bullet 


CAPTAIN  BENNETT. 


300 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


hole  was  in  the  center  of  his  breast,  and  had  evidently  caused  instant 
death.  It  seemed  hard  and  strange  that  this  good  soldier,  who  had  risked 
his  life  on  many  a  hard-fought  battlefield,  both  during  the  war  and  on  the 
frontier,  must  meet  his  death  at  last  in  that  wild  and  rugged  region  amid 
the  eternal  silence  of  these  snow-capped  mountains.  His  body  was  ten- 
derly cared  for  and  sent  to  his  relatives  in  Wisconsin. 

The  command  remained  beside  the  rapid,  clear,  trout  stream  that  came 
down  from  the  mountains,  during  that  day,  and  in  the  evening  witnessed 
the  burial  of  one  of  the  Crow  warriors  who  had  been  killed  in  the  fight 
and  had  been  a  very  popular  man  in  the  tribe.  After  his  body  had  been 
arranged  for  its  final  rest  and  bedecked  with  all  the  valuables  that  he 
had  possessed,  as  well  as  some  belonging  to  his  friends,  and  his  final 
resting  place  had  been  prepared  on  a  high  butte  standing  alone  in  the 
valley  near  the  camp,  his  body  was  lifted  on  the  shoulders  of  four  of  his 
comrades,  who  slowly  moved  up  the  side  of  the  butte  chanting  their 
sorrow  in  low,  mournful  tones,  while  the  other  Indians  bewailed  his 
loss  according  to  the  custom  of  their  people. 

Sending  back  the  captive  Bannocks  by  a  command  under  Lieutenant 


from  Fort  Ouster,  Mon- 
ments  necessary  for 
my  journey  toward  the 


Colonel  Buell,  that  had  moved  up 
tana,  and  making  all  arrange- 
our  dead  and  wounded,  I  renewed 
Yellowstone  upon  an  en- 
tirely different  route  from 
that  which  I  had  formerly 
planned.  I  sent  couriers 
to  Lieutenant  Bailey's 
command,  and  also  to  the 
detachment  with  our 
wagon-train  at  Fort  Ellis, 
directing  them  to  move 
on  to  the  Mammoth  Hot 
Springs  in  the  National 
Park,  and  there  await  my 
arrival. 

I  then  took  up  my  line 
of  march,  following  the  back  trail  of  the  Bannocks  over  a  high  mountain 
pass  most  difficult  of  ascent,  yet  with  surrounding  scenery  far  more  ma- 
jestic and  grand  than  that  of  the  ordinary  trail  up  the  Yellowstone  Canon 
which  is  now  the  principal  route  of  travel.  We  followed  the  circuitous 


TFIE  MOUNTAIN  BUFFALO. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


301 


trail  by  which  the  Bannocks  had  moved  out,  which  was  also  the  same  one 
that  Looking  Glass  and  Chief 
Joseph  had  followed  with  the 
tribe  of  Nez  Perces  the  year  be- 
fore. It  was  familiar  to  a  few  of 
the  Indians,  but  originally  had 
been  nothing  more  than  a  large 
trail  made  by  the  deer,  elk  and 
mountain  buffalo  in  going  into 
and  out  of  the  park.  This  latter 
animal  is  found  in  various  por- 
tions of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
especially  in  the  region  of  the 
parks.  It  has  been,  and  more 
properly,  called  the  "American 
bison."  The  animal  bears  about 
the  same  relation  to  his  relative, 
the  plains  buffalo,  as  the  sturdy 
mountain  pony  does  to  the  well- 
built  American  horse.  His  body 
is  lighter,  though  his  legs  are 
shorter  and  much  thicker  and 
stronger  than  those  of  the  plains 
animal ;  this  structure  enabling 
him  to  perform  feats  of  climbing 
which  would  seem  almost  impos- 
sible to  such  a  huge  and  appar- 
ently unwieldy  beast.  They  also 
differ  from  the  plains  species  in 
being  excessively  shy,  inhabiting 
the  darkest,  deepest  denies,  and 
high,  craggy,  almost  precipitous 
sides  of  the  mountains,  inaccess- 
ible to  any  but  the  most  prac- 
ticed mountaineers. 

We  ascended  the  high  divide, 
going  close  under  Pilot  and  In- 
dex Peaks,  which  are  covered 
with  perpetual  snow,  and  then  descended 


YELLOWSTONE  FALLS. 

to  the  headwaters  of  what  is 


302 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


known  as  Soda  Butte  Creek,  which  enters  into  the  Yellowstone  in  the 
National  Park  near  the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs. 

The  scenery  along  this  route  was  grand  in  the  highest  degree.  Passing 
through  cedar  and  pine  forests,  occasionally  coming  to  an  opening  or  a 
small,  beautiful,  natural  park  with  little  lakes  of  crystal  water;  passing  cold 
springs  fed  from  the  perpetual  snow  on  the  mountains,  thence  along  up  be- 
side the  rapid  mountain  torrents  and  beautiful  cascades  and  waterfalls,  we 
gradually  descended  to  what  is  the  park  proper  or  great  basin.  In  fact  the 
Yellowstone  Park  is  merely  a  great  basin  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  sixty 
miles  square,  and  containing  groups  of  natural  wonders. 

In  six  days  we  had  passed  over  the  high  divide.     One  day's  march  was 


"OLD  FAITHFUL"  GEYSER  IN  WINTER,  YELLOWSTONE  PARK. 

made  on  the  snow,  although  it  was  then  only  September,  and  then  we  de- 
scended to  the  valley  of  the  Yellowstone  Park,  joining  the  rest  of  the 
party  and  command  near  what  is  known  as  Barrett's  Bridge,  twelve  miles 
above  the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs,  and  where  of  necessity  our  wagons  were 
parked  to  remain.  Hereafter  for  twelve  days  we  moved  with  only  saddle- 
horses  and  pack-mules. 

During  these  twelve  days  we  visited  all  the  natural  features  of  this 
wonderland.  On  the  second  day  we  ascended  Mount  Washburn,  which 
stands  near  the  center  of  the  National  Park.  From  the  top  of  this  moun- 
tain there  is  a  splendid  view  of  the  great  panorama  of  natural  wonders. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


303 


You  see  encircling  this  enormous  basin  a  great  range  of  snow-capped 
mountains,  two  hundred  miles  in  extent,  with  some  of  its  highest  peaks 
ten  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Yonder,  far  in  the 
distance  to  the  southwest,  is  the  great  Yellowstone  Lake,  twenty-six  miles 
in  extent,  and  believed  to  be  the  largest  body  of  water  of  its  altitude  on 
the  fa,ce  of  the  globe.  To  the  right,  but  far  away,  you  occasionally  see  the 
geysers  in  action,  but  need  to  be  in  closer  proximity  to  appreciate  their 
grandeur  and  beauty. 

From  the  lake  you  see  the  Yellowstone  River  winding  its  way  along 
through  forest  and  park  to  the  great  Yellowstone  Falls,  where  it 
plunges  to  the  canon  below,  not  so  large  a  volume  of  water  as,  but  nearly  two 
hundred  feet  higher  than,  the  Falls  of  Niagara.  From  there  it  has  cut  its 
course  down  through  the  Great  Canon 
of  the  Yellowstone  a  distance  of 
miles,  past  the  Mammoth 
it  finally  disappears 
main  entrance  to  the 


twenty 

Springs,  until 
through    the 
park. 

As  you  descend  Mount  Washburn 
and  go  on  past  these  falls  of  the 
Yellowstone,  thence  across  the  course 
of  the  Yellowstone  River  and  Yel- 
lowstone Lake,  and  then  on  to  the 
geyser  basin,  you  have  an  opportunity 
to  get  a  better  view  of  these  especial 
wonders.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the 
best  judges  in  our  party,  and  has 
been  the  opinion  of  many  who  have 
visited  the  geysers  in  different  parts 
of  the  world,  that  all  others  are  in- 
significant compared  with  those  in 
the  Yellowstone  Park. 

The  character  and  variety  of  these 
geysers  is  most  remarkable.  For 
instance  Old  Faithful,  as  it  is  called, 
is  in  action  with  as  much  regularity 
as  a  chronometer  once  every  fifty-eight  minutes  or,  as  it  is  called  "  once 
an  hour."  This  geyser,  when  not  in  action,  appears  like  a  deep 
pool  of  clear  boiling  water  about  four  feet  in  diameter,  and  almost 


'"BEEHIVE"  CRYSTALLIZED  GEYSER, 
YELLOWSTONE  PARK. 


304 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


circular.  As  the  action  commences  there  will  be  a  burst  of  water  boiling 
up  in  the  center,  followed  by  another  similar  action  throwing  the  water 
a  few  feet  higher,  and  then  another  and  another,  each  time  reaching  a 
greater  elevation,  soon  rising  to  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  and  then  con- 
tinuing gradually  to  rise  until  it  bursts  forth  with  territic  power,  standing 
a  solid  body  of  boiling  water  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height,  and 
continuing  in  this  volume  and  force  for  twelve  or  fifteen  minutes.  Then 
gradually  it  dies  down  until  it  resumes  its  former  condition  of  absolute  calm. 


"  GIAXT  "  GEYSER,  YELLOWSTONE  PARK. 

The  other  geysers  are  each  of  a  different  character.  For  example,  the 
Bee  Hive  is  a  large,  solid  body  of  carbonate  of  lime  and  geyserite  that 
has  been  thrown  out  and  become  crystallized  in  the  form  of  a  beehive. 
Another  of  a  beautiful,  ragged  form  is  named  the  Grotto,  and  is  one  of 
the  most  interesting  of  all,  and  the  Castle  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful. 

Some  are  in  action  every  twenty-four  hours  with  reasonable  regularity: 
others  once  only  in  six  or  seven  days.  There  are  still  others  that  are  as 
yet  undefined  as  to  their  action.  At  the  time  we  were  there,  there  had 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  305 

been  no  precise  record  made  to  determine  whether  they  were  in  action 
once  a  year  or  whether  they  had  any  system  of  regular  action.  The  Giant 
geyser  and  the  Giantess  are  not  far  apart,  and  the  former  appears  to  be  the 
grandest  of  all,  throwing  a  volume  of  water  two  hundred  feet  in  height. 

These  groups  of  geysers  and  boiling  springs  of  enormous  magnitude 
are  close  by  other  springs  where  the  water  is  as  cold  as  ice.  The  '"paint," 
"  mud,"  and  "  ink  "  geysers  are  seen  in  close  proximity.  These  geysers,  with 
the  falls,  canon  and  snow-capped  mountains,  form  a  group  of  wonders  that, 
taken  altogether,  excel  in  beauty  and  grandeur  anything  else  of  the  kind 
on  this  continent,  and  perhaps  in  any  part  of  the  world,  though  entirely 
different  from  the  glacier  regions  of  Alaska,  the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colo- 
rado or  the  Yosemite,  to  all  of  which  I  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  later. 

That  journey  was  one  of  continuous  interest,  amusement  and  delight ; 
and  we  were  fortunate  in  seeing  it  just  as  the  hand  of  nature's  architect 
left  it,  unmarred  by  the  hand  of  man.  for  though  it  is  impossible  for  him 
to  improve  it,  he  might  easily  injure  ite  beauty  and  sublimity.  The  smoke 
of  the  cabin  or  the  palace,  the  rush  of  the  locomotive,  or  the  rumble  of 
the  stagecoach  could  not  fail  to  mar  the  lofty  grandeur  and  the  silent 
grace  and  beauty  of  one  of  the  most  fascinating  natural  scenes  on  earth. 

Our  marches  were  usually  made  in  the  forenoons,  while  the  afternoons 
were  devoted  to  enjoying  the  wonders  and  places  of  interest.  In  the  even- 
ings we  gathered  around  our  large  camp  'fires  to  enjoy  the  harvest  moon 
and  listen  to  the  vocal  and  instrumental  music  which  alone  broke  the 
silence  of  the  September  nights.  The  rivers  of  the  valley  were  alive  with 
speckled  trout,  the  lakes  were  dotted  with  beautiful  water  fowls,  and  in  the 
park  was  f  ou  nd  an  abundance  of  mountain  grouse  and  pheasants,  together  with 
deer  and  other  large  game,  but  for  the  time  being  we  suspended  hunting. 

After  enjoying  the  beauties  of  nature  for  twelve  days  we  returned  to 
the  Mammoth  Hot  Springs,  where  we  found  our  wagons  parked  and  in  good 
condition  for  our  return  journey.  We  then  resumed  our  homeward  march 
down  the  Yellowstone  by  easy  stages,  selecting  beautiful  camps  and 
enjoying  the  journey  exceedingly,  though  it  was  not  as  eventful  as  when 
we  were  moving  out,  and  we  finally  returned  to  Fort  Keogh  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Tongue  River  after  an  absence  of  two  months. 

Visiting  the  park  again  fourteen  years  later  I  found  a  railroad,  hotels, 
stagecoaches  and  other  evidences  of  civilization,  but  less  of  the  ideal 
picture  of  nature,  and  what  was  remarkable,  T  met  more  foreign  than 
American  tourists.  The  former  appeared  to  appreciate  and  enjoy  it  in  the 
highest  degree. 

M— 18 


306  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 
SITTING  BULL. 

His  CAMP  IN  CANADA  —  CAMPAIGN  OF  LIEUTENANT  CLARK  —  THE  RED  RIVER  HALF-BREEDS  —  CAM- 
PAIGN OF  CAPTAIN  HUOGINS  —  STEALING  AS  A  FINE  ART  —  CUSTOMS  IN  RESPECT  TO  STEALING 
EXPEDITIONS  —  How  THE  THEFT  is  ACCOMPLISHED  —  NAMES  OF  PLACES  AND  WHY  THEY 
WERE  GIVEN  —  THE  "COUNTING   Coos"  —  EXPLOIT  OF  SERGEANT  GLOVER  —  A 
CONFERENCE  WITH  THE  INDIANS  —  THE  TELEGRAPH  AND  TELEPHONE  AS  AR- 
GUMENTS—  THE  SURRENDER  OF  THE  CHIEFS  —  THE  UTE  OUTBREAK. 

HE  winter  of  1878-79  was  uneventful,  and  the  garrison  en- 
joyed the  usual  winter  festivities  such  as  hunting,  sleighing 
and  skating  on  the  crystal  ice  of  the  Yellowstone  and  Tongue 
Rivers.  During  the  two  years  of  comparative  peace  the 
country  had  been  rapidly  settled,  claims  being  taken  up, 
homes  made,  ranches  stocked,  and  towns  and  villages,  with 
the  appliances  of  civilized  communities,  laid  out  and  occupied. 
^y*  Yet  the  country  was  not  entirely  safe  from  the  incursions 

of  raiding  and  stealing  parties  coming  from  Sitting  Bull's  camp,  north  of 
the  Canadian  boundary. 

Sitting  Bull  had  refused  all  overtures  made  to  him  by  the  peace  com- 
missioners to  come  in  and  surrender,  although  General  Terry,  commanding 
the  department,  together  with  the  commander  of  the  Canadian  forces,  had 
met  him  with  friendly  overtures.  Many  disaffected  Indians  from  differ- 
erent  agencies  had  gradually  stolen  away  and  joined  his  camp  across  the 
Canadian  boundary,  where  there  was  an  abundance  of  buffaloes  and  where 
they  could  live  on  the  proceeds  of  the  chase.  From  a  small  camp  of  a 
few  hundred  lodges,  his  following  had  increased  to  something  like  two  thou- 
sand Indians.  Yet  nearly  every  raiding  party  that  was  sent  out  from 
this  camp  to  steal  horses  belonging  to  the  friendly  Crow  Indians  or 
the  white  settlements,  was  met  by  the  troops,  and  either  captured  or 
pursued  back  to  the  northern  line.  Whenever  his  camp  moved  across 
the  line  for  the  purpose  of  hunting  or  trading,  it  was  immediately  pur- 
sued by  troops  and  forced  back  again  to  foreign  territory. 

This  was  especially  the  case  in  the  summer  of  1879,  when  his  camp 
was  reported  to  be  south  of  the  boundary.  A  command  from  the 


Q 

o: 

UJ 

I 
Q 

LU 

cr 


LU 

I 
I- 

cc 

LU 

o 

o 

z 

h- 

I 
o 

LL 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  309 

Yellowstone  moved  north,  crossing  the  Missouri  at  Fort  Peck,  and  after 
crossing  Milk  River  encountered  the  enemy  in  a  sharp  engagement  on 
July  17. 

The  affair  was  opened  by  the  advance  guard  of  two  companies  of 
Indian  scouts  under  Lieutenant  W.  P.  Clark  of  the  Second  Cavalry.  He 
attacked  a  band  of  warriors  near  Frenchman's  Creek,  and  after  a  sharp 
fight  drove  them  for  twelve  miles  and  into  the  main  body,  which  had  come 
upon  the  ground  and  had  surrounded  the  advance  guard.  The  main  command 
consisting  of  seven  companies  of  the  Fifth  Infantry,  mounted  on  ponies 
captured  in  an  earlier  expedition,  as  has  been  described,  and  seven  troops 
of  the  Second  Cavalry,  immediately  advanced  to  the  support  of  the 
advance  guard  under  Clark,  deploying  across  the  rolling  prairie  at  a  gallop, 
and  making  a  rapid  charge  against  the  hostile  Sioux  under  Sitting  Bull. 
The  artillery  under  Lieutenant  Rice  galloped  up  into  position,  throwing 
shell  into  the  enemy's  ranks,  and  the  Sioux  warriors  made  a  precipitate 
retreat  and,  abandoning  their  property,  fled  north  until  they  reached  the 
forty-ninth  parallel,  which  provided  the  only  safe  barrier  that  they  had 
found  during  the  last  three  years  against  the  soldiers. 

It  became  evident  that  this  condition  of  affairs  could  not  continue. 
The  location  of  such  a  large  camp  of  hostile  Sioux  near  the  border  was  a 
menace  to  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  in 
that  vicinity.  Full  reports  were  made  of  the  condition  of  affairs  to  the 
higher  authorities,  and  recommendations  offered  that  the  matter  be 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  State  department,  and  a  demand  made 
upon  the  Canadian  authorities  or  the  British  government  that  this  large 
body  of  hostiles  be  interned  and  removed  so  far  into  the  interior  as  to 
be  no  longer  a  threatening  element  to  the  people  of  our  territory. 

Our  command  remained  for  a  short  time  south  of  the  boundary  line. 
There  were  living  in  that  country  a  body  of  people  known  as  "  Red  River 
half-breeds,"  half  French  and  half  Indian.  They  were  practically  British 
subjects,  living  most  of  the  time  on  Canadian  territory.  They  were  a 
very  singular  people  in  their  mode  of  living.  They  had  large  bodies  of 
strong,  hardy,  but  small  horses.  They  lived  in  tents,  and  their  principal 
mode  of  transportation  was  by  what  was  known  as  the  "  Red  River  cart." 
A  man  with  a  knife  and  an  axe  could  construct  a  cart  and  a  harness,  as 
there  was  not  a  particle  of  iron  used  in  either.  Rawhide  was  occasionally 
used  for  binding  them  together  and  sometimes  in  the  place  of  tires.  The 
harness  was  entirely  of  rawhide.  With  this  means  of  transportation  they 
could  carry  from  a  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  pounds  over  the  prairies 


310 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


and  when  not  heavily  loaded  the  horses  could,  with  these  carts,  swim  any 
river,  the  carts  having  so  much  dry  wood  about  them  that  they  were  very 
buoyant. 

This  people  had  been  a  disturbing  element  for  some  time,  not  only  to 
our  people,  but  to  the  Canadian  authorities  as  well,  and  the  repulse  of  their 
leader,   Kiel,  marks  an    important  event  in  the  history  of 
that  territory.     They  were  in  close  communication  with  the 
hostile  Sioux  under  Sitting  Bull,  and  it  was  reported  to  me 
that  they  were  supplying  those  Indians  with  ammunition. 
I,  therefore,  determined  to  break  up  the  traffic,  and  to 
that  end  sent  out  bodies  of  troops,  surrounded  their 
camps,  and  gathered  them  together  on  one   field  to 
the  number  of  over  a  thousand  people,  together  with 
their  eight  hundred  carts,   herds   of  horses,  tents 
and  other  property  before  mentioned.     These  were 
all  sent  out  of  the  country  after  being  kept  for 
some  time,  thus  breaking  up  one  of  the  means  of 
supply  to  the  camp  of  Sitting  Bull. 

The  command  then  returned  to  the  valley  of 
the  Yellowstone  and  remained  there  during  that 
summer,   fall  and  winter,   and  the  small   raiding 
expeditions  which  went  south  from  Sitting  Bull's 
camp  were  nearly  or  quite  all  captured.     The  sur- 
render of  one  party  of  their  people  was  followed 
by  another,  until  the  camp  of  the  hostile  chief  grad- 
ually melted  away. 

Captain  Huggins,  of  the  Second  Cavalry, 
was  very  useful  and  enterprising  in  this  work. 
He  had  in  early  life,  while  living  in  Minne- 
sota Territory,  acquired  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  Dakota  language.  Owing  to  his 
qualifications  he  was  frequently  sent  north 
in  command  of  a  body  of  troops  to  bring  in  bands  of  the  hostile  Indians, 
and  being  able  to  speak  their  own  language  readily  with  them,  he  im- 
pressed them  favorably  and  accomplished  excellent  work. 

On  March  24,  1880, 1  learned  that  a  party  of  Sioux  had  raided  the  Fort 
Custer  military  reservation,  and  had  driven  away  the  pony  herd  of  the 
Crow  scouts  at  that  post,  and  that  troops  had  been  sent  from  Fort  Custer 
in  pursuit.  I  directed  Captain  Huggins  with  his  troops  and  some  Cheyenne 


CROW  FOOT,  SON  OP  SITTING  BULL. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  311 

trailers  to  move  rapidly,  and  if  possible  intercept  the  raiders  or  join  in  the 
chase.  Captain  Huggins  left  Fort  Keogh  at  daybreak  on  the  25th,  and 
found  the  trail  next  day  at  a  point  about  seventy-five  miles  from  Fort 
Keogh,  and  about  thirty  miles  from  the  right  .or  south  bank  of  the  Yellow- 
stone. The  trail  was  four  days  old,  very  dim,  and  seemed  likely  to  be  soon 
entirely  obliterated  by  frequent  storms  of  rain  and  snow.  However,  it 
was  followed,  though  frequently  lost  and  with  difficulty  regained  by  the 
expert  trailers.  It  led  by  a  circuitous  route  through  Bad  Lands  and 
very  difficult  ground  across  the  Rosebud,  Tongue,  and  Powder  Rivers,  the 
Sioux  apparently  heading  for  a  ford  of  the  Yellowstone  near  the  mouth  of 
O'Fallon  Creek  or  Powder  River.  Pursuit  was  vigorously  kept  up  every 
day  from  dawn  until  it  was  too  dark  to  see  the  trail,  when  the  pursuers 
bivouacked  beside  some  pool  of  snow  water.  The  troop  horses,  almost 
entirely  dependent  upon  grazing,  were  worked  nearly  to  the  limit  of  their 
endurance,  and  some  of  them  had  to  be  abandoned.  For  four  days  at  least, 
an  average  of  more  than  fifty  miles  per  day  was  made,  much  of  the  ground 
passed  over  being  very  difficult. 

On  the  evening  of  April  1,  the  Sioux  were  overtaken  on  the  head  of 
O'Fallon  Creek,  and  were  surprised  and  separated  from  their  ponies.  A 
sharp  skirmish  followed ;  one  sergeant  being  shot  through  the  head  and 
killed,  one  Indian  wounded  and  five  taken  prisoners.  The  remaining 
Indians  occupied  a  position  of  great  natural  strength,  from  which  they 
escaped  on  foot  in  the  darkness  of  that  night.  The  captured  Sioux  proved 
to  be  from  the  camp  of  Sitting  Bull,  near  the  Dominion  line.  All  the  ponies 
that  had  been  stolen  from  Fort  Custer,  about  fifty,  were  recovered.  In 
this  expedition  Captain  Huggins  made  a  complete  circuit  of  Fort  Keogh, 
first  going  up  the  Yellowstone  about  fifty  miles,  and  striking  the  same 
stream  about  fifty  miles  below  the  post  on  his  return. 

During  the  last  thirty-six  hours  of  the  pursuit,  the  command  lived  upon 
coffee,  hard  bread  and  a  little  meat  from  buffaloes,  which  had  been  killed 
by  the  fleeing  Indians,  and  from  which  the  choice  portions  had  been  re- 
moved. Many  buffaloes  were  seen,  but  orders  were  given  not  to  chase  them, 
for  fear  of  giving  the  alarm  to  the  Sioux,  whose  distance  in  advance  was 
not  known. 

Horse  stealing  is  considered  a  fine  art  by  the  Indians.  It  is  a  remark- 
able thing  that  they  rarely  steal  from  others  of  their  own  tribe.  They 
have  the  utmost  confidence  in  them  and  are  governed  in  that  respect  by  a 
sense  of  honor  that  amounts  to  a  rigid  rule  in  their  unwritten  law.  For 
instance,  the  entrances  to  their  lodges  are  never  fastened,  and  they  have 


312  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

no  means  of  securing  their  valuables  by  lock  or  bolt.  But  for  one  Indian 
to  enter  the  lodge  of  another  without  being  bidden  or  welcomed  would  be 
regarded  as  a  highly  dishonorable  act,  and  for  one  to  take  that  which 
belongs  to  another  of  the  same  tribe  would  be  looked  on  as  a  crime  deserv- 
ing of  death.  Should  any  Indian  alienate  the  affections  of  the  wife  of 
another  Indian  or  steal  his  horse,  his  blanket  or  anything  that  belonged  to 
him,  the  one  so  injured  would  be  justified  in  taking  his  rifle  and  killing  the 
offender.  The  whole  camp  would  sanction  such  an  act  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  bad  blood  that  had  been  shed,  and  that  it  was  well  to  exterminate 
it,  and  free  the  camp  from  contamination.  In  that  way,  also,  the  expense 
and  delay  of  police  courts,  and  the  employment  of  attorneys-at-law  are 
all  avoided. 

Such  a  rule  being  made  and  rigidly  adhered  to,  an  Indian  would  have 
no  hesitation  in  laying  down  his  rifle,  his  clothing,  his  horse  equip- 
ments, or  anything  belonging  to  him,  on  the  prairie  or  about  the  camp, 
with  the  utmost  confidence  of  returning  to  the  place  again  and  finding  it 
unmolested.  For  instance,  at  a  horse  race  two  Indians  would  bet  their 
blankets  on  the  result  of  a  race,  fold  them  up,  lay  them  down  on  the 
prairie  and  place  a  stone  upon  them.  After  the  race  was  over  the  winner 
would  come  back  to  the  spot  and  find  them  undisturbed,  though  perhaps 
in  the  meantime  the  whole  camp  might  have  passed  over  or  near  them. 
It  would  hardly  do  for  any  two  gentlemen  to  leave  their  property  un- 
guarded in  this  fashion  at  Monmouth  or  Fleetwood,  or  even  at  a  political 
convention  or  a  first-class  reform  banquet. 

Yet  when  it  comes  to  a  hostile  expedition  against  an  hereditary  enemy, 
even  of  the  same  race,  it  becomes  quite  a  different  matter.  It  is  then  that 
stealing  becomes  a  fine  art.  The  expedition  is  planned  by  a  few  young 
men.  Some  enterprising  and  experienced  warrior  quietly  talks  it  up  with 
one  or  two  of  his  most  intimate  friends,  and  they  in  their  turn  let  one  or 
two  more  into  the  secret,  until  possibly  the  party  numbers  five  or  six  young 
men.  According  to  a  preconcerted  arrangement,  each  quietly  steals  out  of 
the  camp  under  cover  of  the  darkness,  taking  only  his  rifle,  some  light 
clothing,  not  more  than  one  blanket  or  light  robe,  and  one  or  two  lariats 
thrown  over  his  shoulder  or  fastened  about  his  waist. 

If  it  is  in  midsummer  everything  worn  will  be  of  a  green  color;  blanket, 
leggins,  moccasins,  even  the  person's  face  and  hands  being  painted  green. 
If  horses  are  used  they  usually  select  what  is  known  as  dun-colored  or 
roan,  and  sometimes  paint  the  animal  entirely  green,  or  the  color  of  the 
sage  brush  or  dead  grass.  If  it  is  a  winter  expedition  they  generally  choose 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


313 


horses  as  white  as  the  driven  snow.  I  have  seen  parties  start  out  in  win- 
ter when  everything  about  them  would  be  white.  Let  them  be  five  hun- 
dred yards  away  against  a  hill  or  plain  covered  with  snow  and  you  would 
not  notice  them  if  they  stood  still;  at  a  thousand  yards  you  would  not  be 
likely  to  notice  them  even  if  they  were  moving. 

It  is,  however,  considered  more  skillful  and  heroic  to  move  without 
horses,  and  in  such  expeditions  it  is  wonderful  how  adroit  the  Indians  are 
in  moving  through  the  country  without  being  discovered.  From  the  loftiest 
points  they  scan  the  country  in  advance  of  them  thoroughly,  and  creep 
along  from  one  ravine  to  another  under  cover 

of  ridges  and  bluffs  and  approach  the  enemy  as 


INDIAN  RAIDING  PARTY. 


stealthily  as  wolves. 
In  the  winter  they  usually  select  a 
time  when  the  snow  is  dry  and  drift- 
ing; and  the  stronger  the  wind  and 
the  drier  the  snow  the  better  for  their 
purpose,  as  they  then  leave  no  more 
trail  behind  them  than  a  bird  in  the  air.  Their  tracks  are  quickly 
covered  with  drifting  snow  and  in  that  way  their  movements  are  easily 
concealed. 

In  drawing  near  the  country  occupied  by  the  enemy,  a  war  party  of 
Sioux,  for  instance,  approaching  a  Crow  camp,  they  exercise  great  caution. 
They  may  lie  upon  the  crest  of  a  mountain  for  days,  watching  for  some 
sign  of  the  foe.  If  they  discover  Indians  belonging  to  the  enemy's  camp, 
they  watch  the  direction  in  which  they  come  and  go,  and,  changing  their 
own  position  usually  at  night,  cautiously  make  their  approach  and  grad- 
ually draw  near  enough  to  discover  its  exact  location.  Sometimes  they 


314  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

keep  the  same  watch  on  the  crests  of  the  mountains  for  the  purpose  of 
studying  the  camp  and  the  habits  of  the  enemy  in  regard  to  the  care  of  their 
stock,  and  of  learning  the  topography  of  the  country  so  as  to  make  their 
retreat  as  safe  as  possible. 

A  dark  and  windy  night  is  best  for  making  their  descent  upon  the  camp, 
and  the  hour  chosen  is  usually  about  midnight,  when  the  unsuspecting 
Indians  are  sound  asleep,  and  when  the  raiders  can  best  avoid  the  guards  if 
there  are  any  on  the  lookout.  Then  they  crawl  into  camp,  unfasten  the 
horses  if  they  are  tied,  move  out  as  many  as  they  can  or  as  many  as  they 
want,  get  the  band  of  animals  a  short  distance  from  the  camp,  and  then 
commences  their  race  for  life. 

Of  course  they  know  that  at  the  dawn  of  day  when  the  robbery  is 
discovered,  they  will  be  pursued  by  the  fleetest  horses  remaining  in  the 
camp,  and  in  a  large  camp  this  is  very  often  a  serious  consideration,  as 
the  pursuing  party  is  made  up  of  the  ablest  and  best  riders  mounted  on 
the  finest  horses,  with  frequent  relays.  The  stealing  party  generally 
expect  to  ride  two  nights  and  one  day  without  a  halt,  as  otherwise  they 
stand  a  good  chance  of  being  overtaken.  In  this  way  I  have  known  them  to 
make  a  circuit  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  or  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles 
before  taking  a  rest  longer  than  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  to  change  horses. 

They  drive  the  band  before  them  on  a  trot  or  slow  gallop  with  an 
occasional  short  walk,  until  the  horses  they  ride  become  tired.  Then 
they  stop  perhaps  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  to  remount,  possibly  taking  a 
drink  of  water  or  a  little  dried  beef,  and  then  continue  their  flight.  In 
this  way  they  are  constantly  on  the  move  for  from  thirty-six  to  forty- 
eight  hours ;  but  even  after  these  tremendous  rides  they  are  not  always 
successful. 

The  Crow  Butte  near  the  Black  Hills  derives  its  name  from  a  party 
of  Crow  warriors  who,  while  raiding  a  Sioux  camp  many  years  ago,  were 
pursued,  and  taking  refuge  upon  the  top  of  this  high  butte  were  kept 
there  until  they  were  all  killed.  A  small  tributary  of  the  Yellowstone 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Rosebud  takes  its  name  from  a  similar  instance. 
A  war  party  of  Crows  had  been  to  raid  a  camp  of  the  Sioux  some  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  away,  and  after  being  pursued  for  a  long  distance 
they  encountered  a  severe  storm,  and  not  being  protected  by  sufficient 
clothing  were  all  frozen  to  death,  and  the  creek  is  now  known  by  the 
name  of  "  Froze  to  Death."  These  expeditions  were  frequently  occurring 
between  the  Sioux  and  the  Crows  as  far  back  as  we  have  any  knowledge 
of  the  two  tribes. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


315 


While  the  warriors  are  away  on  their  horse-stealing  expeditions  their 
relatives  and  friends  are  greatly  concerned  for  their  safety.  Usually  when 
they  return  they  send  one  man  in  advance  to  apprise  the  camp  of  the  re- 
sult. If  they  have  been  unsuccessful  and  have  lost  some  of  their  warriors, 
this  is  a  sad  mission.  On  the  other  hand,  if  they  have  been  successful  it 
is  an  occasion  of  great  rejoicing.  The  messenger  generally  appears  upon 
a  bluff  or  a  high  divide  and  halts  for  some  time  until  he  is  satisfied 
that  his  appearance  has  caused  great  consternation  in  the  village.  He 
then  moves  slowly  down  the  divide  or  side  of  the  butte,  approaches 
the  camp,  moves  along  to  his  own  lodge  or  that  of  the  principal  chief, 
and  dismounts.  His  horse  is  immediately  unsaddled  and  properly  cared 
for  and  he  is  asked  into  the  lodge  of  the  chief,  or  into  the  council  tent. 
Food  and  water  are  placed  before  him,  and  after  he  has  been  refreshed 
possibly  a  pipe  is  filled,  lighted  and  given  to  him.  After  being  thus  feasted, 
and  not  before,  he  announces  the  result  of  the  expedition. 

When  the  band  returns  driving  the  herd  of  stolen  horses  before  them, 
they  are  received  with  _^ 

great  demonstrations,  and 
regarded  as  heroes  and 
brave  warriors.  At  night 
the  fires  are  lighted,  and 
frequently  the  whole  camp 
gathers  about  one  fire, 
while  the  warriors  in  turn 
relate  the  history  of  their 
expedition,  each  giving 
his  individual  experience 
and  adventures  to  atten- 
tive listeners,  and  as  he 
talks  the  other  members 
of  the  band  frequently 
strike  the  drum  and  sig- 
nify in  other  ways  their 
endorsement  of  his  state- 
ments. In  this  "counting 
coos,"  as  it  is  called,  and 
while  relating  his  adven- 
tures, he  occasionally  pauses  to  say  to  this  one  or  that  "I  make  you  a 
present,"  at  the  same  time  handing  him  a  small  piece  broken  off  the  end 


' 


"  I  MAKE  You  A  PRESENT." 


316  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

of  a  stick,  which  is  equivalent  to  the  presentation  of  one  of  the  horses. 
The  next  day  the  fortunate  individual  takes  the  stick  to  the  corral  and 
selects  his  pony,  horse  or  mule,  or  whatever  it  may  be.  In  that  way  all  of 
the  stolen  property  is  given  away,  for  it  is  one  chief  element  in  the  char- 
acter of  an  Indian  never  to  accumulate  property,  and  the  most  popular 
men  are  those  who  give  away  the  most. 

On  one  occasion,  in  February,  1880,  a  stealing  expedition  moved  south 
from  Sitting  Bull's  camp,  crossed  the  Missouri,  then  went  south,  cross- 
ing the  Yellowstone,  and  thence  west  toward  the  Tongue  and  the  Rosebud. 
Getting  information  of  their  movements,  Sergeant  Glover  was  sent  to 
intercept  them  with  a  detachment  of  troops.  He  surprised  them  in 
one  of  their  camps,  drove  them  into  a  ravine,  and  held  them  there 
until  Captain  Snyder  with  his  troops  came  up  and  forced  them  to 
surrender.  These  Indians  and  those  captured  by  Captain  Huggins, 
were  retained  as  prisoners,  and  information  was  sent  to  their  peo- 
ple that  they  would  be  held  until  their  relatives  came  in  and  sur- 
rendered. 

In  answer  to  this  summons  a  delegation  of  eight  stalwart  warriors 
came  in  under  a  flag  of  truce  from  Sitting  Bull's  camp  to  ascertain  upon 
what  terms  they  could  surrender.  We  treated  them  civilly,  and  tried  in 
every  possible  way  to  impress  them  with  the  advisability  of  laying  down 
their  arms.  At  that  time  we  had  made  considerable  progress  in  the  settle- 
ment of  the  country,  and  had  introduced  some  of  the  modern  appliances. 
A  good-sized  village  had  grown  up  in  close  proximity  to  the  post.  The 
telegraph  system  was  in  working  condition,  and  we  had  also  established 
at  Fort  Keogh  a  telephone  system. 

In  this  conference  the  superior  advantages  that  the  white  man  had  over 
the  Indian  was  explained  to  them,  and  reference  was  made  to  an  electric 
telegraph  line  by  which  we  could  talk  instantly  with  the  Great  Father  at 
Washington.  This  they  did  not  believe  at  first,  and  it  was  difficult  to 
convince  them.  As  it  was  impossible  to  explain  to  them  something  that 
we  did  not  ourselves  know — that  is,  what  electricity  really  consists  of — we 
informed  them  that  the  Great  Spirit  had  loaned  to  the  white  man  the  use 
of  the  lightning.  They  had  seen  the  lightning  and  knew  something  of 
its  effects.  We  therefore  had  the  telegraph  office  made  dark  by  hang- 
ing blankets  over  the  windows,  and  seating  the  Indians  at  the  table 
asked  them  to  watch  results.  The  telegraph  key  was  closed  and  opened, 
and  they  could  see  the  electric  spark  flash  from  one  contact-point  to  the 
other  as  the  instrument  was  worked.  That  was  as  near  as  we  could  come 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


317 


to  making  them  understand  the  electric  force.     They  then  admitted  that 
this  excelled  all  the  medicine  of  all  the  Sioux. 

In  order  to  still  further  impress  them  with  the  power  possessed  by  the 
white  man,  their  party  was  divided,  and  one  portion  remained  in  the  room 
of  the  telegraph  operator 
at  headquarters,  while  the 
other  was  taken  a  distance 
of  nearly  one-eighth  of  a 
mile  to  the  house  of  the 
commanding  officer,  and 
then  the  telephone  was 
put  in  operation.  We 
succeeded  in  getting  them 
to  talk  through  the  tele- 
phone to  their  comrades, 
whom  they  had  left  but  a 
short  time  before,  in  their 
own  language. 

They  recognized  the 
voices  of  their  friends  so 
clearly  and  unmistakably 
that  they  were  fully  con- 
vinced that  the  sound  of 
their  voices  passed  through 
the  wire,  and  it  was  sur- 
prising to  see  the  effect 
upon  these  aborigines, 
stalwart,  bold,  hard- 
nerved  men  as  they  were 
who  scorned  to  show  the  least  emotion;  men  who  had  been  through  the  sun- 
dance  and  taken  an  active  part  in  the  Ouster  massacre.  While  holding  in 
their  hands  the  little  telephone  instruments,  and  listening  to  the  Dakota 
words  of  their  comrades,  their  hands  shook  visibly,  their  bodies  trembled 
with  emotion,  and  great  drops  of  perspiration  rolled  down  their  bronzed 
faces.  Then  they  carefully  laid  the  instrument  back  upon  the  table  and 
wished  to  go  immediately  away. 

They  appeared  to  be  as  much  struck  with  awe  as  if  they  had  been  in 
the  presence  of  the  Almighty,  for,  as  we  have  said,  when  an  Indian  cannot 
understand  anything  he  gives  it  a  spirit,  or  believes  it  to  possess  a  spirit. 


THE  "  WHISPERING. SPIRIT." 


318  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

If  it  shows  some  power  that  he  cannot  equal  or  excel,  it  inspires  his  rever- 
ence. After  rejoining  their  companions  and  talking  the  matter  over  and 
telling  their  experiences  and  impressions,  they  gave  the  telephone  a  very 
pretty  name  ;  they  called  it  the  "whispering  spirit."  On  returning  to  their 
camp,  some  two  hundred  miles  north,  it  is  needless  to  say  that  they  were 
strong  advocates  of  peace,  urging  the  surrender  of  the  camp. 

Among  the  different  camps  that  came  in  and  surrendered,  each  chief 
bringing  his  own,  large  or  small,  the  principal  leaders  were  Broad  Trail, 
Spotted  Eagle,  Kicking  Bear,  Rain-in-the-Face  and  others.  The  last 
named  was  quite  a  noted  Indian,  being  perhaps  made  so  as  much  by  Long- 
fellow's poem  as  by  his  own  prowess.  He  was  famous  among  the  Indians 
as  the  man  who  had  hung  by  the  flesh  six  hours  in  the  sun-dance.  He  had 
been  arrested  on  the  Missouri  River,  and  in  the  Big  Horn  massacre  is  said 
to  have  cut  out  the  heart  of  Captain  Tom  Ouster,  placed  it  on  a  pike  and 
ridden  around  the  camp  with  it.  When  he  surrendered  he  was  a  cripple, 
having  been  injured  either  in  some  fight  or  buffalo  chase.  Therefore  in 
riding  about  the  camp  on  his  pony  he  always  carried  his  crutches,  as  he 
could  ride  all  right,  while  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  walk.  Spotted  Eagle 
was  a  wild,  fierce  chief  and  one  of  the  last  to  surrender,  and  was  one  of 
the  extreme  type  of  wild  savage.  Kicking  Bear  and  Short  Bull  were  not 
particularly  noted  at  that  time,  but  became  so  by  reason  of  their 
subsequent  acts  in  the  conspiracy  and  threatened  uprising  in  1890  and 
1891. 

In  this  way  more  than  two  thousand  surrendered  Indians  were  gathered 
at  Fort  Keogh.  They  remained  peaceable,  contented  and  industrious, 
fulfilling  all  requirements  made  upon  them,  until,  in  1881,  when  orders 
were  received  to  move  them  down  the  Yellowstone  and  Missouri  to  the 
Indian  agency  on  the  lower  Missouri.  This  was  regarded  by  them  as  a 
serious  disaster,  as  their  crops  were  then  well  nigh  half  grown  and  in  pros- 
perous condition.  They  were  contented  and  happy  and  anxious  to  stay. 
They  went  about  from  one  officer  to  another  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  beg- 
ging, pleading  and  praying  that  they  might  be  allowed  to  remain  under  the 
control  of  the  military,  where  they  had  been  kindly  and  justly  treated, 
and  in  a  country  agreeable  to  them.  In  that  way  they  excited  the  sym- 
pathy of  all  who  saw  them,  officers,  soldiers  and  civilians ;  but,  as  the 
order  was  imperative,  they  were  placed  upon  a  fleet  of  steamboats  and 
shipped  down  the  river,  and  wrere  never  allowred  to  return  again  to  that 
country,  where  many  of  them  had  spent  their  lives  from  childhood,  as 
well  as  had  their  ancestors  before  them. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  319 

Among  the  Indians  who  had  occasionally  hunted  buffaloes  on  the  plains 
east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  were  those  of  the  Ute  nation,  comprising 
seven  different  bands.  These  periodical  hunts  were  always  at  the  risk  of 
collision  and  war  with  the  Cheyennes,  Arapahoes,  Kiowas  and  Coman- 
ches,  who  claimed  the  country  over  which  the  great  Southern  herd  of 
buffaloes  ranged,  as  their  own. 

On  September  13,  1873,  the  Utes  ceded  to  the  United  States  some  four 
million  acres  of  their  reservation,  and  had  a  right  to  expect,  as  part  of  the 
consideration,  that  they  would  be  relieved  by  the  government  from  further 
inroads  by  the  whites  upon  the  territory  retained  by  them.  This  cause  of 
dissatisfaction,  which  had  for  years  disturbed  the  friendly  relations 
between  the  whites  and  the  red  men,  was  not  removed;  but  early  in  Septem- 
ber, 1879,  Agent  Meeker,  at  the  White  River  agency,  had  a  difficulty  with 
Chief  Johnson,  and  sent  for  troops  to  arrest  him  and  such  other  chiefs  as 
were  insubordinate.  As  soon  as  the  Indians  learned  that  the  troops  were 
advancing  they  became  greatly  excited,  regarding  it  as  a  declaration  of 
war.  They  requested  the  commander  of  the  troops,  Major  Thornburgh,  to 
halt  his  troops  and  come  with  only  a  guard  to  the  agency,  where  a  talk 
and  better  understanding  could  be  had.  This  he  declined  to  do,  and  with 
his  command  entered  the  reservation  September  28. 

The  next  day  Agent  Meeker  and  all  his  male  employes  were  killed,  and 
about  the  same  time,  the  advance  of  the  command  under  Lieutenant 
Cherry,  was  fired  upon.  Thornburgh,  retiring  upon  his  wagon-train,  which 
was  quickly  parked,  placed  his  command  in  line  of  battle  and  awaited  the 
attack.  It  was  made  by  about  one  hundred  Indians,  led  by  Chief  Jack. 
Thornburgh  was  killed  at  the  beginning  of  the  fight,  and  the  command  de- 
volved on  Captain  Payne.  The  troops  dug  rifle-pits,  and  made  breast- 
works of  wagons  and  animals  as  these  latter  were  shot  by  the  Indians 
from  their  positions  on  the  surrounding  heights,  and  maintained  the  de- 
fence until  nightfall,  when  advantage  was  taken  of  the  darkness  to 
strengthen  their  position  by  every  available  means.  At  midnight  a  courier 
got  through  the  Indian  lines  and  arrived  at  Rawlins  on  the  30th.  On  the 
morning  of  October  2,  a  reinforcement,  forty  strong,  arrived  in  the  be- 
sieged camp  under  Captain  Dodge  of  the  Ninth  Cavalry,  after  a  forced 
march  of  twenty-three  hours,  and  three  days  later,  on  the  approach  of 
Colonel  Merritt  at  the  head  of  a  large  force  of  cavalry  and  infantry,  the 
Indians  withdrew  and  dispersed.  Besides  Major  Thornburgh,  two  officers, 
eleven  citizens  and  two  soldiers  were  killed,  and  forty-one  wounded.  The 
Indians  admitted  a  loss  of  thirty-nine. 


320  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

RESULTS  OF  Six  YEARS  OF  INDIAN  CAMPAIGNING. 

REDEEMED   TERRITORY  —  ITS  VAST  AREA  —  ZONES   OF   EMIGRATION  —  INDICATIONS   OP   CHARACTER 

PROM    NATURAL    SURROUNDINGS  —  THE  TRANS-CONTINENTAL   RAILWAYS  —  LAND    AND    ITS 

FERTILITY  —  DESTINY  OP  THE  WEST  —  YELLOWSTONE   VALLEY  —  THE  PROBLEM  OP 

IRRIGATION  —  A    WESTERN    "CITY"  —  THE    PLACE    AND    WORK 

OP    OUR    SOLDIERS    IN    WESTERN    PROGRESS. 

jjf-ETWEEN  the  years  1874  and  1880,  a  belt  of  country  extend- 
ing from  the  Rio  Grande  or  the  Mexican  boundary  on  the 
south,  to  the  Canadian  boundary  on  the  north,  and  averaging 
some  four  hundred  miles  in  width  from  east  to  west,  was  re- 
deemed from  a  wild  state  and  its  control  by  savage  tribes,  and 
given  to  civilization.  This  vast  region  comprised  a  territory 
nearly  eight  times  as  large  as  all  New  England.  Take  out  of 
it  as  many  square  miles  as  there  are  in  New  England,  and  add 
to  this  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Pennsylvania, 
Virginia,  West  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia, 
and  there  would  still  remain  more  than  enough  territory  to  carve  out  other 
States  such  as  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Tennessee  and  Kentucky.  Or,  again, 
take  all  New  England,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois 
and  Iowa — the  belt  containing  the  greatest  wealth  and  densest  population 
of  the  United  States  —  out  of  this  great  territory,  and  there  will  still  be  an 
abundance  remaining  out  of  which  to  form  several  other  States. 

This  vast  country,  over  which  in  1874  roamed  powerful  bands  of  Indian 
warriors  and  countless  numbers  of  wild  game,  was  in  six  years,  by  the  op- 
erations of  the  United  States  Army,  freed  for  all  time  from  the  desolating 
influence  of  the  savage,  and  made  habitable  for  civilized  man.  And  these 
results  are  due  to  the  heroic  services,  the  splendid  fortitude  and  courage  and 
noble  sacrifices,  of  men  like  Lewis,  Custer,  Thornburgh,  Hale,  Bennett, 
Keogh,  Yates,  Tom  Custer,  Crittenden,  Biddle,  McKinney,  and  hundreds  of 
others,  officers  and  soldiers,  who  placed  themselves  between  war  and  peace, 
between  danger  and  security,  guarding  the  newly-constructed  railways  and 
protecting  the  towns  as  they  rose  on  the  plains.  They  freely  offered  their 
lives,  and  actually  cleared  this  vast  region  during  that  brief  time,  giving 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  321 

it  to  civilization  forever.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  services  and  sacri- 
fices of  these  men  will  at  least  be  remembered  by  the  people  who  occupy 
this  country  and  enjoy  its  benefits. 

It  is  somewhat  singular  how  prone  man  is  to  follow  in  his  migrations 
the  zone  where  his  fathers  lived.  Ohio  and  Kentucky  were  settled  largely 
by  the  middle  Atlantic  States;  Texas  from  the  southern  States;  Iowa, 
Kansas  and  Nebraska  by  the  Middle  States;  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and 
Minnesota  by  people  from  the  northern  zone  of  our  country;  and  the  set- 
tlements in  western  Texas,  western  Kansas,  western  Nebraska,  the  Dakotas 
and  Montana  exhibit  the  same  phenomenon  of  growth  to-day.  The  people 
of  each  are  wedded  to  their  own  zone  and  climate,  and  are  enthusiastic  in 
the  development  of  their  own  district  of  country.  If  we  may  judge  by  the 
comparative  vigor  and  enterprise  of  the  aboriginals  in  the  countries  occu- 
pying the  different  belts,  we  may  estimate  the  character  of  the  descendants 
of  the  people  that  have  supplanted  them,  and  measure  their  future  activity 
and  intelligence. 

The  southwest  country  has  been  noted  ever  since  civilized  man  has  been 
there  for  its  active,  intelligent  and  enterprising  spirit;  and  its  present  pop- 
ulation has  forever  supplanted  the  Comanches  and  Kiowas  as  possessors  of 
the  soil.  The  white  settlers  who  have  gone  into  that  region  have  mani- 
fested great  resolution  and  energy  in  the  development  of  its  natural 
resources,  building  a  network  of  railways,  opening  mines  and  establishing 
factories,  blocking  out  plantations  and  building  homes.  Along  the 
middle  belt  we  see  the  enterprise  and  intelligence  that  have  made  Pennsyl- 
vania, Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Missouri,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Colorado, 
Utah,  Idaho  and  California  what  they  are  to-day. 

In  the  extreme  north  the  Dakotas  and  Montana  will  also  develop  in  the 
near  future  a  strong,  hardy,  heroic  race.  That  country  is  being  filled  by 
people  from  along  the  line  of  New  England,  New  York,  Ohio,  Michigan 
and  Minnesota,  as  well  as  by  a  foreign  population  accustomed  to  the  rigor- 
ous climate  of  northern  Europe,  such  as  the  Scotch,  Irish,  English,  North 
Germans,  Swedes,  Norwegians  and  even  the  Russians. 

Every  individual  coming  from  Europe  and  settling  in  that  country 
becomes  an  agent  or  missionary  for  the  planting  of  still  other  colonies.  A 
man  or  woman  who  has  worked  there  long  enough  to  be  enabled  to  save 
fifty  dollars,  can  take  that  sum  to  almost  any  bank  along  the  line  of  the 
Great  Northern  or  Northern  Pacific,  give  the  name  of  his  relative  in 
the  home  country,  whatever  part  of  Europe  that  may  be,  and  the  person 
named  will  be  transported  to  the  place  where  the  money  has  been  deposited 


322  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

without  giving  himself  any  further  concern,  the  banks  and  transportation 
companies  attending  to  the  entire  transaction.  In  this  way  vast  numbei's 
of  people  are  already  occupying  that  country,  and  while  it  results  in  but 
little  advantage  to  the  present  generation,  the  next,  by  attending  the 
public  schools  and  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  English  language,  and  an 
interest  and  pride  in  our  institutions,  will  become  Americanized  and  help 
make  in  the  great  population  now  growing  up  in  those  western  States  a 
sure  foundation  for  the  future  prosperity  of  the  commonwealth.  Un- 
doubtedly, as  the  Dakota  Indians  were  among  the  most  stalwart,  bold  and 
enterprising  of  the  native  races,  so  that  same  climate  will  have  its  effect 
upon  the  descendants  of  the  people  settling  there  at  the  present  time,  and 
will  place  them  among  the  strongest  and  most  independent  of  our  citizens. 
There  is  something  in  the  climate  that  engenders  a  spirit  of  independence, 
energy  and  fortitude. 

During  the  last  two  decades  that  great  belt  of  country  stretching  from 
the  Rio  Grande  to  the  Canadian  boundary  has  been  crossed  by  not  less 
than  twelve  great  railway  systems  that  have  lateral  and  trans-continental 
connections,  to-wit:  the  Kansas  Pacific,  the  Union  Pacific,  the  Chicago 
and  Northwestern,  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Sante  Fe,  the  Northern 
Pacific,  the  Great  Northern,  the  Burlington,  the  Elk  Horn,  the  Rock 
Island,  the  Denver,  Texas  and  Gulf,  the  Southern  Pacific,  and  the 
Texas  Pacific,  together  with  all  their  branches  and  tributaries.  The 
smoke  of  the  Indian  villages  has  been  replaced  by  the  foundries 
and  furnace  fires  of  civilization;  the  signal-lights  no  longer  flash  from 
the  hills,  but  in  their  places  the  headlight  of  the  locomotive  and  the 
electric  light  dispel  the  shadows  of  town,  city,  and  plain,  and  illumine 
the  pathway  of  progress  and  civilization. 

As  has  well  been  said  by  an  eminent  writer,  this  is  "the  land  of  large- 
ness." Mountains,  rivers,  railways,  ranches,  herds,  crops,  business  transac- 
tions, ideas,  all  are  Cyclopean.  It  is  said  that  western  stories  are  often  on 
such  a  large  scale  that  it  takes  a  dozen  eastern  men  to  believe  one  of 
them;  but  large  as  they  are  they  still  possess  all  the  elements  of  verity. 
The  States  and  Territories  are  large.  New  Mexico  is  larger  than  the 
United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  That  part  of  the  country, 
freed  from  the  ravages  of  the  Indians  by  the  campaign  of  1874  and  '75, 
is  alone  larger  than  all  New  England,  together  with  New  York,  New 
Jersey  and  Delaware. 

The  amount  of  useless  land,  though  large  in  the  aggregate,  is  much  less 
than  is  commonly  supposed,  and  in  comparison  with  the  wealth-producing 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


323 


MAHOHING  ON  THE  STAKED  PLAIN. 


lands  is  almost  insignificant.  The  vast  region  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, though  not  long  since  known  as  "  The  Great  American  Desert," 
really  does  not  contain  a  large  percentage  of  useless  land.  We  have  seen 
cattle  come  out  of  the  Bad  Lands  in  the  spring  as  fat  as  if  they  had 
been  fed  all  the  winter.  The  United  States  surveyor  generaly  states  that  the 
proportion  of  waste  lands  in  the  Dakotas,  owing  to  the  absence  of  swamps, 
mountains,  and  overflowed  and  sandy  tracts,  is  less  than  in  any  other  terri- 
tory of  the  same  size  in  the  Union.  The  Staked  Plains  of  Texas  has  been 
spoken  of  as  a  "des- 
ert" ;  but  a  Texas  writer 
who  has  lived  there 
for  years  says:  "While 
it  is  true  that  this  vast 
territory  which  we  are 
describing  is  mainly  a 
grazing  country,  it  is 
also  true  that  it  abounds  in  fertile  valleys  and  rich  locations  of  large  extent 
which  are  well  watered  and  as  fertile  as  any  in  the  Union."  That  portion 
of  the  Staked  Plains  which  is  mountainous  is  rich  in  minerals,  and  land 
often  appears  worthless  which  upon  trial  proves  to  be  fertile.  Water  is 
all  that  is  needed  to  make  most  of  our  western  "deserts"  blossom  as  the 
rose.  The  important  question  of  irrigation  is  attracting  the  attention  of 
the  entire  western  people. 

The  unrivaled  resources  of  the  West,  together  with  the  unequaled 
enterprise  of  its  citizens,  are  a  sure  prophecy  of  wealth.  Already  have 
some  of  these  new  States  outstripped  their  older  sisters  at  the  East.  The 
West  is  destined  to  equal  them  in  agriculture,  stock-raising,  and  event- 
ually in  manufacturing.  With  many  times  the  room  and  resources  of  the 
East,  the  West  will  have  twice  its  population  and  wealth,  together  with 
all  the  intelligence  which  under  popular  government  accompanies  them. 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  my  plan  to  discuss  any  of  the  individual 
enterprises  that  have  marked  the  development  of  this  wonderful  territory, 
although  the  temptation  to  do  so  is  great.  The  pony  express,  the  build- 
ing of  the  trans-continental  railways,  the  great  irrigation  schemes,  the 
mammoth  mining  enterprises,  are  all  subjects  of  absorbing  interest,  and 
present  materials  that  would  fill  many  volumes. 

In  the  light  of  information  that  I  have  obtained  during  the  last  eight- 
een years,  my  opinion  has  not  changed  as  to  the  great  future  of  that 
country,  although  statistics  and  records  are  most  valuable  in  forming 

M— 19. 


324 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


correct  conclusions,  especially  as  to  the  natural  limitations.  Statistics  have 
shown  that  it  was  not  safe  to  rely  entirely  upon  the  natural  elements  in 
agriculture  in  that  belt  of  country  which  I  have  described,  and  which  was 
formerly  known  as  the  "Plains"  country.  In  Montana,  the  Dakotas, 
Nebraska,  and  western  Kansas,  in  some  seasons  excellent  crops  will  be 
produced,  and  then  will  come  a  time  when  in  a  few  days  they  are  cut 
down  and  withered  by  hot,  dry  winds  that  absorb  every  particle  of  mois- 
ture. Undoubtedly  irrigation  could  be  made  the  salvation  of  this  belt  of 
country,  as  it  has  of  the  arid  territory  west  of  it.  Irrigation  is  the  surest 
method  of  producing  sufficient  moisture  to  insure  crops  in  almost  any  part 


SCENE  IN  THE  YELLOWSTONE  VALLEY. 

of  the  country,  and  especially  in  that  region.     It  has  in  fact  been  found 
beneficial  in  almost  every  district  of  the  United  States. 

If  we  will  take  account  of  the  moisture  that  -comes  from  the  rainfall  in 
that  section  of  country,  the  melted  snow  of  the  springtime,  and  the  mois- 
ture received  from  the  perpetual  snows  of  the  mountains,  added  to  the 
flow  of  water  down  the  Missouri  through  its  tributaries — the  Yellowstone, 
the  Little  Missouri,  the  Platte,  the  Kaw,  and  those  great  rivers,  the  Arkan- 
sas and  the  Red,  which  empty  into  the  Mississippi, — we  will  understand 
why  for  so  many  years  it  has  been  necessary  for  Congress  to  appropriate 
many  millions  of  dollars  to  confine  the  overflow  of  the  Mississippi  along 
its  lower  portion,  and  the  question  arises,  if  a  portion  of  that  enormous 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  325 

sum  had  been,  or  can  be,  expended  in  the  construction  of  water  storages 
to  retain  the  water  in  early  seasons  in  artificial  lakes,  and  allow  it  to  be 
carried  over  arid  fields  and  plains  where  it  would  produce  an  abundance  of 
every  kind  of  agricultural  substance,  and  then  slowly  find  its  way  toward 
the  Gulf,  would  it  not  benefit  both  sections  of  the  country  equally? 

In  describing  the  quick  growth  of  the  far  West,  I  can  think  of  no  better 
example  than  the  Yellowstone  Valley,  a  region  with  which  I  am  familiar. 

An  exhaustive  description  of  its  topographical  features  would  require 
more  space  than  is  available  for  that  purpose  in  this  volume.  The  follow- 
ing brief  summary  of  the  subject,  partially  quoted  from  articles  on  the 
subject  by  Mr.  E.  V.  Smalley,  will  give  the  reader  a  general  conception  of 
the  character  of  the  country,  and  of  the  progress  of  settlement  along  the 
river  up  to  the  time  of  my  departure  for  my  new  command  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  in  1881.  The  readiest  route  in  every  respect  for  entering  the  valley  is 
the  eastern  one,  which  insures  railroad  travel  to  the  Missouri  River.  The 
traveler  at  St.  Paul  taking  the  trains  on  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad 
which  leave  morning  and  evening,  finds  himself  twenty-four  hours  later  at 
Bismarck,  now  the  capital  of  North  Dakota,  on  the  Missouri  River.  He 
has  traveled  in  that  interval  four  hundred  and  seventy-one  miles,  which 
has  been  comfortably  passed  in  elegant  sleeping  cars  and  day  coaches, 
which  have  carried  him  through  the  greatest  wheat-raising  country  of 
America,  crossing  one  hundred  miles  of  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Red  River 
of  the  North,  and  traversing  the  rich  and  almost  boundless  prairies  of 
Dakota. 

The  steamboat  route  was  the  favorite  method  of  traveling  during  the  few 
months  of  the  year  that  it  was  available.  The  Yellowstone  River  is  fed  in 
the  summer  months  by  the  melting  snows  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  of 
the  lofty  ranges  which  lie  at  the  head  waters  of  its  larger  tributaries,  the 
Tongue  and  Big  Horn  Rivers.  From  the  middle  of  May  until  the  first  of 
September  there  is  usually  sufficient  water  in  the  Yellowstone  for  purposes 
of  navigation.  At  best,  however,  the  channel  is  narrow  and  winding,  and 
the  current  runs  at  an  average  rate  of  five  miles  per  hour.  The  Missouri 
has  an  almost  equally  rapid  stream,  and  the  voyage  from  Bismarck  to  Fort 
Buford,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  although  a  distance  of 
only  three  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  is  seldom  accomplished  in  less  than 
four  or  five  days.  Excepting  in  clear  moonlight  weather  no  progress  is 
attempted  at  night,  the  boats  being  tied  to  trees  on  the  bank  during  the 
interval  of  darkness,  which  fortunately,  however,  is  very  brief  in  this  high 
latitude.  Fort  Buford,  in  latitude  forty-eight  degrees  north  and  longitude 


326  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

one  hundred  and  four  degrees  west,  is  a  military  post  designed  to  receive  a 
garrison  of  four  companies  and  to  serve  as  a  depot  for  the  upper  Missouri 
and  Yellowstone  Valleys.  Directly  across  the  Missouri  from  the  post,  the 
Yellowstone  pours  into  the  stream  a  vast  volume  of  muddy,  yellow  water, 
and  at  its  mouth  it  is  apparently  the  larger  river  of  the  two.  It  was  named 
by  the  early  French  explorers  the  "Rochejaune,"  of  which  its  present  name 
is  the  translation.  Its  title  was  derived  from  the  prevailing  reddish-yellow 
color  of  the  stone  which  crops  out  along  its  shores.  After  the  middle  of 
July  the  condition  of  the  channel  is  precarious — not  to  mention  the  almost 
inevitable  risk  the  traveler  runs  of  being  discovered  by  the  tiny  and  song- 
less  mosquito,  which  is  a  curious  and  pertinacious  and  multitudinous 
feature  of  the  Missouri  River  part  of  the  journey.  It  is  not  necessary  here 
to  dwell  upon  the  characteristics  of  the  scenery  along  the  two  rivers.  The 
description  we  are  at  present  aiming  at  precludes  the  use  of  so-called  tine 
writing.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  both  in  Dakota  on  the  Missouri,  and  in 
Montana  on  the  Yellowstone,  the  heart  of  the  intending  settler  will  be 
gladdened  with  the  sight  of  broad  prairie  lands,  rich  river  bottoms  and 
fertile,  undulating  plains,  the  immensity  of  which  surpasses  the  power  of 
human  description,  all  holding  forth  in  the  summer  sunshine  a  smiling 
invitation  to  the  agriculturist,  and  all  open  to  the  actual  settler  by  the 
free  gift  of  the  government.  These  facts,  which  are  purposely  stated 
inside  the  bounds  of  truthful  privilege,  have  not  we  believe  a  parallel  in 
any  other  habitable  country  of  the  globe. 

After  the  long  steamboat  ride  the  traveler  naturally  feels  an  eager 
desire  to  reach  the  point  of  disembarkation.  That  feeling  is  enhanced  by 
the  prospect  of  emerging  from  the  wilderness,  to  set  foot  in  some  place 
dignified  with  the  appellation  of  "  city.  "  It  sometimes  happens,  however, 
that  words  of  strict  technical  import  acquire  through  custom  and  usage 
meanings  wholly  at  variance  with  their  primitive  significance.  Thus  the 
word  "  city  "  has  become  in  American  parlance  a  relative  term.  In  the 
Eastern  States  where  a  definite  ratio  of  population  to  the  acre  determine 
the  eligibility  of  a  town,  a  city  is  an  almost  exceptional  thing.  In  the 
West,  where  the  acreage  is  vastly  disproportioned  to  the  population,  a  city 
is  the  simplest  thing  imaginable.  Given  a  cluster  of  men  established  with 
a  view  to  permanence  at  any  point  showing  promise  of  development,  and 
it  is  as  easy  to  call  the  aggregation  a  "  city  "  as  it  would  be  to  call  it  a  camp 
or  a  village  or  town.  So  when  writers  in  the  West  speak  of  cities,  readers 
in  the  East  must  not  construe  their  meaning  according  to  their  own  stand- 
ards. This,  however,  be  it  understood  is  not  by  way  of  apology.  A 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  327 

county  town  in  the  West  may  be  the  capital  of  a  region  rather  more  than 
one-third  larger  in  area  than  the  whole  State  of  Pennsylvania.  It  may 
be,  and  usually  is,  a  lively,  bustling  and  eminently  successful  little  town. 
There  are  skilled  artisans  of  almost  every  handicraft,  in  addition  to  a  fair  al- 
lowance of  merchants,  lawyers  in  abundance  and  physicians.  Some  of  the 
stores  will  be  found  to  contain,  in  great  variety  of  course,  every  staple  of 
merchandise  purchasable  in  Eastern  cities,  besides  countless  articles  of 
mere  luxury.  Prices  are  quite  reasonable  considering  the  cost  and  diffi- 
culties of  transportation.  Such  a  town  rapidly  growing,  is  usually 
regarded  as  destined  in  time  to  justify  its  name  of  "city.  "  The  place,  not- 
withstanding that  it  may  derive  its  support  thus  far  mostly  from  its  prox- 
imity to  a  vast  rich  region  not  yet  developed,  may  contain  in  its  list  of 
industrial  enterprises,  carpenters,  blacksmiths,  painters,  dining-halls  and 
saloons  of  every  grade,  excellent  drug  stores,  depots  of  fancy  notions,  a 
free  school,  a  courthouse,  a  jail,  and  every  comfortable  thing  in  fact 
requisite  to  maintain  a  town  on  an  independent  footing,  as  well  as  a  first- 
class  hotel  suitable  for  the  accommodation  of  tourists  and  business  men 
temporarily  sojourning  there.  Moreover,  it  may  well  be  an  orderly  place 
in  which  riotous  demonstrations  are  promptly  and  inflexibly  repressed. 
Often  the  presentation  of  a  pistol  in  a  threatening  manner  subjects  the 
offender  to  a  heavy  fine,  and  even  the  wanton  discharge  of  firearms  in  the 
streets  is  a  punishable  offence.  For  the  frontier  settlement  is  apt  to  rap- 
idly assert  itself  as  a  type  of  a  better  civilization,  despite  the  primeval  and 
savage  associations  which  still  attach  to  it  like  the  touch  of  a  bloody 
finger. 

Around  a  nucleus  like  this  may  lie  the  splendid  stock-raising  plains  in 
which  the  famous  Montana  cattle  thrive,  finding  pasture  the  year  round. 
For  sheep  raising  also  the  advantages  are  equally  great.  Agriculture  on 
any  important  scale  is  perhaps  as  yet  almost  an  untried  experiment,  but 
the  natural  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  general  moisture  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  the  comparative  ease  of  artificial  irrigation,  if  needed,  have  long  indi- 
cated that  the  Yellowstone  Valley  is  likely  in  the  future  to  compete  in 
productiveness  with  any  section  in  the  United  States.  The  climate  is  on 
an  average  about  the  same  as  that  of  the  northwestern  part  of  New  York 
State — the  extreme  ranges  of  the  mercury  being  greater  in  Montana,  but 
owing  to  the  purity  and  dryness  of  the  atmosphere  not  much  more  appre- 
ciable as  a  cause  of  discomfort  to  animal  or  plant.  This  matter  of  atmos- 
phere-  is  something  that  must  be  experienced  to  be  appreciated.  To 
invalids  it  is  especially  grateful.  The  predominance  of  ozone  renders  it 


328 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


exhilarating  to  sound  lungs,  and  invigorating  to  weak  ones  if  not  too  far 
gone  in  disease. 

The  north  shore  of  the  Yellowstone  is  only  inferior  to  the  south  shoi'e 
in  the  fact  of  its  possessing  fewer  water  courses  than  the  latter.  It  is  prob- 
able that  artificial  irrigation  will  be  necessary  in  many  places,  but  it  will 
not  be  universally  or  generally  required,  and  there  is  everywhere  an 
abundance  of  water  for  the  purpose.  In  some  seasons  crops  are  raised 
throughout  the  valley  which  astonish  the  farmers  themselves.  Sometimes 


"CASTLE"  GEYSER,  YELLOWSTONE  PARK. 

4,000  bushels  of  oats  are  produced  on  less  than  a  hundred  acres  of  land. 
In  the  Yellowstone  Valley  the  productiveness  of  the  soil  was  at  first 
untested  and  the  surface  was  only  tickled  in  a  desultory  way.  Wherever 
any  experiments  are  made  in  real  agriculture  the  result  is  unqualified 
success.  The  soil  in  the  valley  is  an  alluvial  deposit  of  rich,  black  and 
somewhat  heavy  earth  on  the  bottoms  near  the  stream,  and  a  warm  sandy 
loam  on  the  bench  lands  which  rise  in  terraces  further  back,  and  which 
are  generally  recognized  as  the  lands  capable  of  the  widest  range  of 
production. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  329 

The  region  alluded  to,  taken  as  an  example  of  far  western  growth,  is 
one  that  the  writer  has  himself  marched  over  and  camped  upon  in  cam- 
paigns that  are  described  in  this  volume.  A  few  years  ago  it  was  so 
remote  as  to  be  almost  inaccessible,  and  so  wild  as  to  be  quite  unknown. 
The  Dakotas  owned  it  in  apparent  perpetuity,  and  gave  it  up  at  last  with 
great  reluctance. 

It  was  so  within  memory,  with  all  the  vast  domain  west  of  the  Mis- 
souri. All  that  we  now  call  the  "  West"  has  practically  become  ours  only 
since  our  energies  were  turned  in  that  direction  after  the  close  of  the 
great  war.  The  unorganized  march  of  our  ex-soldiers  passed  westward 
against  an  opposition  that  was  stubborn  and  almost  ceaseless,  but  they 
were  aided  always  on  their  front  by  the  officers  and  soldiers  whose  cam- 
paigns, so  far  as  I  have  personally  known  them,  are  described  in  these 
chapters. 

The  six  years  of  campaigning  I  have  alluded  to  were  not  all  that  were 
consumed  in  the  struggle  that  peradventure  is  not  even  yet  entirely  ended. 
They  were  merely  the  most  active  and  fruitful  ones,  opening  almost  at 
once  the  enormous  area  I  have  alluded  to  on  previous  pages.  Wherever 
the  struggle  has  ceased  there  has  at  once  come  the  change  I  have  de- 
scribed as  local  to  the  great  valley  of  the  Yellowstone  in  far  Dakota. 

The  picture  is  not  an  ideal  or  an  imaginary  one,  and  I  have  in  my  mind 
the  very  scenes  described.  Looking  backward  but  a  few  years,  I,  myself 
having  witnessed  all  the  processes  intervening  between  the  tepee  and  the 
town,  am  astonished  at  the  change.  In  the  weariness  of  the  march,  the 
loneliness  of  the  camp  and  the  excitement  of  the  fight,  the  soldier  of  the 
western  campaigns  was  not  aware  of  the  flood  of  energy  behind  him, 
whose  barriers  he  was  breaking,  and  which  followed  instantly  when 
he  led  the  way.  As  I  have  said  before,  the  Indian  was  never 
destined  to  remain  in  the'  position  of  barring  the  way  of  a  mighty 
civilization.  The  wrongs  he  has  suffered  are  inexcusable,  and  his 
destiny  is  one  of  the  saddest  in  human  history.  He  might  have  yielded 
most  that  he  has  lost  and  still  have  been  treated  fairly,  still  have  had  the 
promises  made  him  fulfilled.  But  between  him  and  all  broken  con- 
tracts and  all  changing  policies,  the  soldier  of  the  little  army  of  the 
United  States  has  been  required  to  stand.  That  stand  is  now  a  matter  of 
history.  The  result  alone  is  seen  —  a  result  before  which  we  stand  sur- 
prised, while  old-world  statesmen  discredit  and  even  deny. 

Yet  all  that  is  here  stated  is  but  a  discussion  of  mere  beginnings.  It 
was  once  prophesied  that  these  United  States  would  yet  hold  a  hundred 


330  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

millions  of  free  men  living  under  the  laws  of  Alfred.  To  those  who  have 
watched  the  growth  of  the  mighty  West  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  the 
estimate  seems  to  fall  far  short.  That  multitude,  and  more,  are  destined  to 
live  beyond  the  Mississippi,  undivided  from  their  brethren,  and  still  under 
the  code,  the  spirit,  the  customs  and  the  faith  that  had  their  origin  among 
the  fathers  of  the  race. 

It  may  seem  pertinent  to  this  chapter  to  devote  a  little  space  to  the  social 
life  and  amusements  of  our  army  on  the  frontier,  and  a  brief  outline  of  some 
of  the  social  features  of  that  life  may  be  of  interest.  The  officers  and  their 
families  at  these  posts,  sometimes  hundreds  of  miles  from  the  nearest  rail- 
road, without  churches,  libraries,  art  galleries,  clubs  or  theaters,  deprived 
even  of  the  daily  paper,  and  rarely  seeing  new  faces,  are  forced  to  find  in 
themselves  and  in  each  other  something  to  replace  the  multifarious  forms 
of  social  and  intellectual  activity  usual  in  all  civilized  communities. 

Not  having  the  various  outside  interests,  which  in  a  city  often  keep 
apart  the  nearest  neighbors,  intercourse  is  free  and  informal,  and  the 
closest  and  most  enduring  friendships  are  often  formed.  As  the  deadliest 
enmity  is  sometimes  found  between  those  whom  Nature  has  the  most 
closely  united,  so  it  sometimes  happens  that  bitter  animosities  and  feuds 
are  engendered  in  these  little  clusters  of  humanity,  so  dependent  on  each 
other  for  companionship.  These  cases  are  fortunately  exceptional,  the 
prevailing  tone  being  that  of  simple  cordiality  and  kindness,  even  where 
no  great  congeniality  exists. 

Fort  Keogh,  Montana,  where  I  was  in  command  for  several  years, 
might  be  considered  a  typical  frontier  post  from  the  date  of  its  establish- 
ment in  1876  until  the  completion  to  that  point  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  1^1882.  During*the  first  year  the  post  was  known  simply  as  the 
Tongue  River  Cantonment,  the  command  being  quartered  in  rude  shelters 
constructed  in  quite  a  primitive  manner.  This  cantonment  was  situated 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Tongue  River,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Yellowstone; 
Bismarck,  North  Dakota,  distant  three  hundred  miles,  being  the  nearest  avail- 
able railroad  station.  When  all  the  postal  connections  were  closely  made, 
mail  from  St.  Paul  or  Chicago  was  received  in  about  six  days ;  but  in 
winter  this  time  was  sometimes  increased  to  several  weeks. 

During  the  summer  of  1877  the  comparatively  commodious  quarters  of 
Fort  Keogh  were  built  near  the  cantonment,  and  the  garrison  moved  into 
them  in  November.  The  social  circle  was  enlarged  by  the  arrival  of 
officers'  families;  the  upper  story  of  a  large  storehouse  was  turned  into  a 
hall  for  entertainments,  pianos  and  comfortable  furniture  appeared,  the 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  333 

valuable  library  of  the  Fifth  Infantry  was  unpacked,  and  the  fine  band 
of  the  same  regiment  contributed  to  make  .of  the  post  an  oasis  of 
civilization. 

For  a  short  season  each  year  the  Yellowstone  River  was  navigable  for 
small  stern- wheel  steamers.  The  arrival  of  these  were  occasions  of  unusual  in- 
terest, the  first  steamer  of  the  season  being  watched  for  with  special  anxiety, 
and  great  was  the  excitement  and  delight  when  her  whistle  was  heard  or 
her  smoke  discovered  down  the  stream.  Goods  and  supplies  often  ordered 
months  before  were  received,  new  faces  were  added  to  the  circle,  or  familiar 
ones  reappeared,  and  there  was  a  decided  break  in  the  monotony  of  many 
months.  The  departure  of  the  last  steamer  in  the  fall  was  always  an  occa- 
sion of  sadness,  bearing  away  as  it  did  children  going  to  school,  officers  and 
their  families  changing  stations,  and  sometimes  summer  visitors  who 
had  come  to  experience  the  novelty  of  life  at  an  army  post  in  the  far 
West. 

An  amateur  theatrical  company  was  organized,  which  transported  in 
imagination  the  spectators  from  the  banks  of  the  Yellowstone  to  other 
lands  and  other  times.  Scene  painters  as  well  as  actors  were  provided  by 
"home  talent,"  and  their  efforts  may  have  been  a  little  crude,  but  their 
performances  met  with  much  applause  and  served  to  beguile  the  long  win- 
ter evenings.  A  play  that  needed  long  and  careful  preparation  and  many 
rehearsals  was  liable  to  suddenly  lose  the  male  members  of  the  cast,  as  de- 
tachments from  the  garrison  were  frequently  sent  out  as  scouts  and  on  expe- 
ditions of  different  kinds  against  the  Indians,  their  absence  ranging  from 
a  few  days  to  weeks  or  even  months. 

Owing  to  the  situation  of  the  post  in  a  prairie  country,  and  to  other 
favoring  circumstances,  equestrianism  held  an  important  place  among  the 
recreations.  The  garrison  for  several  years  consisted  entirely  of  mounted 
troops,  being  composed  of  the  Fifth  Infantry,  mounted  on  choice  ponies 
that  had  been  captured  at  different  times  from  the  Indians,  and  a  squadron 
of  the  Second  Cavalry.  Many  of  the  officers  also  owned  fine  private  horses, 
and  a  pack  of  excellent  hounds  for  chasing  game  was  kept  at  the  post. 
The  surrounding  country  was  an  ideal  one  for  horseback  riding,  the 
wide,  level  river  bottoms  and  the  rolling  prairies  being  alike  covered 
with  firm,  elastic  turf,  save  where  broken  here  and  there  by  the  under- 
ground cities  of  the  prairie  dog. 

In  that  region  is  found  much  of  the  "Bad  Lands"  formation 
peculiar  to  Montana.  These  Bad  Lands  may  be  described  as  follows: 
Hiding  over  the  prairie  one  sees  towering  in  the  distance  what  appears  to 


334 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


be  a  confused  mass  of  ruined  masonry.  Reflecting  back  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  walls  of  red  brick,  broken  turrets  of  bluish  stone  and  crumbling  bat- 
tlements are  flung  together  in  bewildering  confusion.  Approaching  nearer 
the  contours  change,  and  the  ruined  city  proves  to  be  a  stupendous  mass 
of  variegated  clay,  almost  a  group  of  small  mountains  heaped  upon  the 
prairie,  and  worn  by  the  weather  into  a  chaos  of  precipices,  chasms  and 
fissures.  Here  and  there  the  fantastic  labyrinth  is  penetrated  by  bridle 

paths,  trodden  only  a  few  years 
ago  by  herds  of  elk  and  buffaloes, 
and  leading  to  lofty  points  of 
observation,  crowned  perhaps  by 
bits  of  prairie,  or  to  little  se- 
cluded valleys  and  patches  of 
grazing  land. 

Most  of  the  ladies  at 
Fort  Keogh  became 
expert  horsewomen. 
To  see  one  of  these 
parties  dashing  after 
the    hounds 
across    the 
broad  valley 
lands  of  the 
Y  e  llowstone 
was  an  exhil- 
arating sight. 
The   prairies 
were    u  n- 
touched    b  y 

fence  or  plow,  though  buffalo  trails 
were  numerous,  a  herd  of  these 
animals  having  been  in  sight  of  this  post  as 
late  as  January,  1881.  A  wolf  or  deer  was  oc- 
casionally started  and  taken  by  these  parties, 
but  the  game  most  easily  found  and  taken  was  the  hare,  better  known  as 
the  jack  rabbit.  Small  riding  parties  were  sometimes  organized,  and  conge- 
nial people  visited  together  the  various  points  of  interest  in  the  vicinity, 
exploring  the  recesses  of  the  broken  country  and  riding  through  the  Indian 
villages,  redolent  always  of  kinnikinic,  and  often  vibrant  with  wild  song 


INDIAN  MEDICINE  MAN. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


335 


and  dance,  or  with  the  incantations  of  the  medicine  man,  or  the  harangues 
of  the  tribe  orator. 

The  Indians  sometimes  came  to  the  post  in  full  war  paint  and  feathers, 
and  gave  an  Omaha  dance,  weird  and  grotesque  in  the  extreme  with  its 
mimic  warfare  and  accompaniment  of  tom-toms.  The  Omaha  dance  is 
meant  to  be  complimentary  and  must  be  recognized  by  substantial  gifts, 
but  it  would  be  terrifying  to  the  timid  except  for  the  sense  of  security 
afforded  by  a  strong  garrison.  In  winter  skating  and  sleighing  parties 
were  most  enjoyable. 

Fort  Keogh  is  now  in  the  heart  of  a  flourishing  grazing  and  farming 
community,  and  only  two  miles  from  a  thriving  western  town  and  county 
seat.  All  the  conditions  have  changed.  The  life  which  I  have  meagerly 
outlined,  leaving  imagination  to  supply  the  rest,  has  vanished,  or  like  so 
many  other  phases  pertaining  to  the  frontier  is  swiftly  drifting  into  the 
to-morrow  that  returns  not  again. 


336  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 
THE  INDIAN  PROBLEM. 

CONCLUSIONS     OF     PERSONAL      EXPERIENCE  —  END      OF      THE     INDIAN      TROUBLES      NOT      YET 
NEAR — ORIGINAL  CAUSES   OP  THESE  —  INDIANS   IN   MOTIVE  LIKE   OTHER  MEN  —  HIS- 
TORY OP  THE  INDIAN  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  —  THE  Two  MODES  op  SOLVING 
THE  QUESTION  —  THE  AUTHOR'S  PLAN  FOR  THE  BENEFIT  OF  THE 
INDIAN  AND  THE    SECURING  OF  PERMANENT  PEACE. 

URING  my  experience  along  the  frontier  of  the  Southwest  and 
the  Northwest,  I  had  opportunities  of  seeing  much  of  the  savage 
natures  of  the  Indians,  of  hearing  much  of  their  depredations  and 
atrocities,  and  the  expression  that  "the  only  good  Indian  is  a 
dead  Indian  "  was  not  an  uncommon  one.  At  the  same  time  I 
had  opportunities  of  seeing  the  better  elements  of  their  nature, 
the  good  qualities  that  some  possessed,  and  noted  the  same 
differences  in  them  that  we  find  in  other  people  under  similar  or  like 
circumstances. 

I  have  had  occasion  to  speak  of  the  wrongs  that  I  noticed  committed 
against  the  Indians  in  New  Mexico.  Another  incident  illustrates  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  good  purposes  of  the  government  being  fulfilled.  Upon  one 
occasion  a  commissioner  was  sent  from  Washington  to  meet  a  large  tribe 
of  Arapahoes  on  the  plains  near  the  Arkansas  River,  where  they  had  been 
gathered  for  council.  All  the  Indians  being  gathered  in,  the  council 
opened  with  great  ceremony  and  ostentation,  and  the  commissioner  was 
treated  with  great  distinction  as  coming  from  the  Great  Father  at  Wash- 
ington. The  commissioner  explained  to  the  Indians  that  the  Great 
Father  was  President  of  the  whole  country ;  that  he  had  the  same  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  the  Indians  that  he  had  in  all  the  other  inhabitants  of 
the  United  States,  regardless  of  color,  race  or  condition;  that  the  Great 
Father  had  commissioned  him  to  express  his  good  will  toward  them  and 
his  deep  interest  in  their  welfare,  and  also  the  hope  that  they  might  be 
industrious  and  prosperous,  and  he  further  hoped  that  they  might  gather 
large  quantities  of  robes  and  furs  and  receive  good  returns  for  them,  in 
order  that  they  might  supply  the  wants  of  themselves  and  families ;  that 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  337 

they  might  live  in  peace  and  friendship  with  their  white  neighbors,  and 
that  they  would  refrain  from  going  to  war;  that  they  would  be  ever 
faithful  and  loyal  to  the  general  government  and  to  the  end  that  they  and 
their  families  might  live  in  peace  and  happiness  all  their  lives.  Un- 
fortunately, the  commissioner  had  employed  as  his  interpreter  at  this 
council  a  man  who  had  lived  many  years  with  the  Indians,  and  who  was 
employed  by  a  firm  known  as  Bent,  at  Bent's  store  on  the  Arkansas  River, 
who  was  accustomed  to  purchase  robes  and  furs  and  give  to  the  Indians 
very  small  returns.  When  he  came  to  that  part  of  the  message  of  the 
Great  Father,  instead  of  interpreting  what  the  commissioner  really  said, 
he  thought  he  would  do  a  little  business  for  the  ti'ader,  and  said  that  "the 
Great  Father  hoped  that  they  would  gather  large  quantities  of  buffalo 
robes  and  furs,  and  be  careful  to  bring  them  all  to  Bent's  store  and  sell 
them  cheap ; "  and  for  many  years  the  Indians  supposed  that  the  President 
at  Washington  had  sent  this  absurd  message. 

Again,  at  another  time  a  steamer  load  of  annuity  goods  was  sent  up  the 
Missouri  River  to  near  Fort  Peck  in  Montana,  and  instead  of  being  dis- 
tributed to  the  Indians,  a  store  was  opened  and  the  entire  amount  bartered 
to  the  Indians  for  furs  and  robes,  and  the  next  year  the  same  steamer 
carried  down  the  river  a  load  of  these  valuables  obtained  by  fraud. 

Sometimes,  indeed,  intertribal  jealousies  and  hatreds  have  involved 
the  whites  in  unintentional  and  unpremeditated  aggression  upon,  or  con- 
flict with,  some  particular  band  or  tribe.  A  case  in  point  is  related  by 
Washington  Irving  in  Irs  ''Adventures  of  Captain  Bonneville"  as  occurring 
in  1832  in  the  valley  called  Pierre's  Hole,  adjoining  that  named  Jackson's 
Hole,  where  the  Bannock  Indian  outbreak  has  been  threatened  as  this 
book  is  being  put  in  type.  The  valley  so  named  is  about  thirty  miles  long 
and  fifteen  wide,  overlooked  to  the  east  by  the  lofty  mountains  called  the 
Thi-ee  Tetons,  southwest  of  the  Yellowstone  National  Park.  Pierre's  Hole 
had  been  selected  as  the  annual  rendezvous  for  that  year,  and  in  it  was 
congregated  the  motley  populace  connected  with  the  fur  trade — traders, 
trappers,  hunters,  half-breeds;  also  Nez  Perces,  Flatheads  and  other 
Indians  with  their  families,  assembled  from  all  quarters  awaiting  their 
yearly  supplies,  preparatory  to  starting  away  in  all  directions  for  the 
ensuing  year's  hunting  and  trapping.  When  the  gathering  dispersed,  one 
band  of  fourteen  trappers,  led  by  a  brother  of  the  famous  Captain 
Sublette,  set  out  in  company  with  two  other  bands  from  whom  they  were 
to  separate  later,  numbering  forty  altogether,  for  the  southwest.  On  the 
following  morning,  just  as  they  were  breaking  camp,  they  observed  a  long 


338  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

line  of  Blackfeet  Indians  approaching,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  in 
number — men,  women  and  children.  Having  perceived  the  trappers 
before  they  were  themselves  discovered,  these  Indians  came  down  from 
the  mountain  defile  yelling  and  whooping  into  the  plain. 

"One  of  the  trappers  of  Sublette's  brigade,"  says  Irving,  "named 
Antoine  Godin,  now  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  forth  as  if  to  hold  a 
conference.  He  was  the  son  of  an  Iroquois  hunter  who  had  been  cruelly 
murdered  by  the  Blackfeet  at  a  small  stream  below  the  mountains,  which 
still  bears  his  name.  In  company  with  Antoine  rode  forth  a  Flathead 
Indian,  whose  once  powerful  tribe  had  been  completely  broken  down  in 
their  wars  with  the  Blackfeet.  Both  of  them  therefore  cherished  the 
most  vengeful  hostility  against  these  marauders  of  the  mountains.  The 
Blackfeet  came  to  a  halt.  One  of  the  chiefs  advanced  singly  and 
unarmed,  bearing  the  pipe  of  peace.  The  overture  was  certainly  pacific; 
but  Antoine  and  the  Flathead  were  predisposed  to  hostility,  and 
pretended  to  consider  it  a  treacherous  movement. 

"'Is  your  piece  charged?'  said  Antoine  to  his  red  companion. 

"'It  is.' 

" '  Then  cock  it  and  follow  me.' 

"  They  met  the  Blackfeet  chief  half  way,  who  extended  his  hand  in 
friendship.  Antoine  grasped  it. 

"'Fire!'  cried  he. 

"The  Flathead  leveled  his  piece  and  brought  the  Blackfeet  chief  to  the 
ground.  Antoine  snatched  off  his  scarlet  blanket,  which  was  richly 
ornamented,  and  galloped  off  with  it  as  a  trophy  to  the  camp,  the  bullets 
of  the  enemy  whistling  after  him." 

What  wonder  that  a  bloody  and  immediate  battle  ensued  between  the 
Blackfeet  and  the  trapper  bands,  in  which  the  latter  got  much  the  worst  of 
it  until  reenforcements  came  from  the  collection  of  whites  still  remaining 
at  the  rendezvous,  eight  miles  further  up  the  valley. 

Such  were  the  wars  and  feuds  among  the  tribes,  and  from  such 
seemingly  trifling  causes  came  results  at  times  of  far-reaching  and  tragic 
importance  to  the  white  people. 

During  the  winter  of  1878-9  the  Indian  problem  was  exciting  much 
interest,  and  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Allen  Thorndyke  Rice  I  wrote  the 
following  article  on  the  subject,  which  appeared  in  the  "  North  American 
Review"  for  March  1879.  The  article  presents  the  views  I  entertained  at 
that  time  and  many  of  the  suggestions  therein  contained  have  since  been 
adopted. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  339 

THE  INDIAN  PROBLEM. 

Strange  as  it  may  appear,  it  is  nevertheless  a  fact  that,  after  nearly 
four  hundred  years  of  conflict  between  the  European  and  American  races 
for  supremacy  on  this  continent,  a  conflict  in  which  war  and  peace  have 
alternated  almost  as  frequently  as  the  seasons,  we  still  have  presented  the 
question,  "What  shall  be  done  with  the  Indian?"  Wise  men  differ  in 
opinion,  journalists  speculate,  divines  preach,  and  statesmen  pronounce  it 
still  a  vexed  question. 

If  the  graves  of  the  thousands  of  victims  who  have  fallen  in  the  terrible 
wars  of  the  two  races  had  been  placed  in  line,  the  philanthropist  might 
travel  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf, 
and  be  constantly  in  sight  of  green  mounds.  And  yet  we  marvel  at  the 
problem  as  if  some  new  question  of  politics  or  morals  had  been  presented. 

The  most  amusing  part  of  the  quandary,  however,  is  that  it  should  be 
regarded  as  something  new  and  original.  After  every  generation  had,  in 
its  time,  contended  on  deadly  fields  with  the  hope  of  settling  the  question, 
after  the  home  governments  had  enacted  laws,  and  the  colonies  had  framed 
rules,  every  succeeding  administration  of  our  government  has  been  forced 
to  meet  the  difficulty,  every  Congress  has  discussed  the  "  Indian  Question," 
and  we  are  still  face  to  face  with  the  perplexing  problem.  The  real  issue 
in  the  question  which  is  now  before  the  American  people  is,  whether  we 
shall  ever  begin  again  the  vacillating  and  expensive  policy  that  has  marred 
our  fair  name  as  a  nation  and  a  Christian  people,  or  devise  some  way  of 
still  improving  the  practical  and  judicious  system  by  which  we  can  govern 
a  quarter  of  a  million  of  our  population,  secure  and  maintain  their  loyalty, 
raise  them  from  the  darkness  of  barbarism  to  the  light  of  civilization,  and 
put  an  end  forever  to  these  interminable  and  expensive  Indian  wars. 

In  considering  the  subject  it  might  be  well  to  first  examine  the  causes 
which  governed  so  long  the  condition  of  affairs,  and  if  in  doing  so  the 
writer  shall  allude  to  some  of  the  sins  of  his  own  race,  it  will  only  be  in  order 
that  an  unbiased  judgment  may  be  formed  of  both  sides  of  the  question. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  one  class  or  race  is  without  representation, 
and  has  not  the  advantages  of  the  press  or  telegraph  to  bring  it  into  com- 
munication with  the  intelligence  of  the  world,  and  that  it  has  seldom  been 
heard  except  in  the  cry  of  alarm  and  conflict  along  the  Western  frontier. 
If  we  dismiss  from  our  minds  the  prejudice  we  may  have  against  the 
Indians,  we  shall  be  able  to  more  clearly  understand  the  impulses  that 
govern  both  races.  Sitting  Bull,  the  great  war  chief  of  the  Dakota  nation, 


340  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

uttered  one  truth  of  his  times  when  he  said  that  "  there  was  not  one 
white  man  who  loved  an  Indian,  and  not  an  Indian  but  who  hated  a 
white  man." 

Could  we  but  perceive  the  true  character  of  the  Indians,  and  learn 
what  their  dispositions  are  when  not  covered  by  the  cloak  of  necessity, 
policy  and  interest,  we  should  find  that  they  have  always  regarded  us  as  a 
body  of  false  and  cruel  invaders  of  their  country,  while  we  in  turn  are  too 
apt  to  consider  them  as  a  treacherous  and  bloodthirsty  race,  who  should 
be  destroyed  by  any  and  all  means.  If  we  now  fairly  consider  the  cause  of 
this  feeling,  we  may  more  readily  understand  its  result. 

The  more  we  study  the  Indian's  character,  the  more  we  appreciate  the 
marked  distinction  between  the  civilized  being  and  the  real  savage.  Yet 
we  shall  find  that  the  latter  is,  after  all,  governed  by  the  impulses  and 
motives  that  govern  all  other  men.  The  want  of  confidence  and  the  bitter 
hatred  always  existing  between  the  two  races  have  been  engendered  by 
the  warfare  that  has  lasted  for  centuries,  and  by  the  stories  of  bad  faith, 
cruelty  and  wrong  handed  down  by  tradition  from  father  to  son  until  they 
have  become  second  nature  in  both.  It  is  unfair  to  suppose  that  one  party 
has  invariably  acted  rightly,  and  that  the  other  is  responsible  for  every 
wrong  that  has  been  committed.  We  might  recount  the  treachery  of  the 
red  man,  the  atrocity  of  his  crimes,  the  cruelties  of  his  tortures  and  the 
hideousness  of  many  of  his  savage  customs.  We  might  undertake  to  esti- 
mate the  number  of  his  victims,  and  to  picture  the  numberless  valleys 
which  he  has  illumined  by  the  burning  homes  of  hardy  frontiersmen,  yet  at 
the  same  time  the  other  side  of  the  picture  might  appear  equally  as  black 
with  injustice. 

One  hundred  years  before  the  pilgrims  landed  at  Plymouth,  the  Spanish 
government  issued  a  decree  authorizing  the  enslavement  of  the  American 
Indians  as  in  accord  with  the  law  of  God  and  man.  Later  they  were  trans- 
ported to  France,  to  San  Domingo  and  other  Spanish  colonies,  were  sold 
into  slavery  in  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  the 
Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  Louisiana,  and  were  hunted  with  dogs  in  Connecti- 
cut and  Florida.  Practically  disfranchised  by  our  original  Constitution, 
and  deprived  either  by  war  or  treaty  of  nearly  every  tract  of  land  which  to 
them  was  desirable  and  to  the  white  man  valuable,  they  were  the  prey  to 
the  grasping  avarice  of  both  Jew  and  Gentile.  Step  by  step  a  powerful 
and  enterprising  race  has  driven  them  back  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  West 
until  at  last  there  was  scarcely  a  spot  of  ground  upon  which  the  Indians 
had  any  certainty  of  maintaining  a  permanent  abode. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  341 

It  may  be  well  in  this  connection  to  remember  the  fact  that  in  the 
main  the  Europeans  were  kindly  treated  by  the  natives  when  the  former 
first  landed  on  American  shores,  and  when  they  came  to  make  a  permanent 
settlement  were  supplied  with  food,  particularly  the  Plymouth  and  Ports- 
mouth colonists,  which  enabled  them  to  endure  the  severity  of  the  long  and 
cheerless  winters.  For  a  time  during  the  early  settlement  of  this  country, 
peace  and  good  will  prevailed,  only  to  be  followed  later  by  violent  and 
relentless  warfare. 

Our  relations  with  the  Indians  have  been  governed  chiefly  by  treaties 
and  trade,  or  war  and  subjugation.  By  the  first  we  have  invariably  over- 
reached the  natives,  and  we  find  the  record  of  broken  promises  all  the  way 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  while  many  of  the  fortunes  of  New  York, 
Chicago,  St.  Louis  and  San  Francisco  can  be  traced  directly  to  Indian 
tradership.  By  war  the  natives  have  been  steadily  driven  toward  the 
setting  sun — a  subjugated,  a  doomed  race.  In  council  the  Indians  have 
produced  men  of  character  and  intellect,  and  orators  and  diplomats  of 
decided  ability,  while  in  war  they  have  displayed  courage  and  sagacity  of 
a  high  order.  Education,  science,  and  the  resources  of  the  world  have 
enabled  us  to  overcome  the  savages,  and  they  are  now  at  the  mercy  of 
their  conquerors.  In  our  treaty  relations  most  extravagant  and  yet  sacred 
promises  have  been  given  by  the  highest  authorities,  and  these  have  been 
frequently  disregarded.  The  intrusions  of  the  white  race  and  the  noncom- 
pliance  with  treaty  obligations,  have  been  followed  by  atrocities  that  could 
alone  satisfy  a  savage  and  revengeful  spirit.  Facts  that  have  been  already 
referred  to  make  it  almost  impossible  for  the  two  conflicting  elements  to 
harmonize.  No  administration  could  stop  the  tidal  wave  of  immigration 
that  swept  over  the  land ;  no  political  party  could  restrain  or  control  the 
enterprise  of  our  people,  and  no  reasonable  man  could  desire  to  check  the 
march  of  civilization.  Our  progress  knew  no  bounds.  The  thirst  for  gold 
and  the  restless  desire  to  push  beyond  the  horizon  have  carried  our 
people  over  every  obstacle.  We  have  reclaimed  the  wilderness  and 
made  the  barren  desert  glisten  with  golden  harvest ;  settlements 
now  cover  the  hunting  ground  of  the  savages ;  their  country  has  been 
cut  and  divided  in  every  conceivable  form  by  the  innumerable  railroad 
and  telegraph  lines  and  routes  of  communication  and  commerce,  and 
the  Indians  standing  in  the  pathway  of  American  progress  and  the  de- 
velopment of  the  wonderful  resources  of  this  country  have  become  the 
common  enemy  and  have  been  driven  to  the  remote  places  of  our 
territory. 

M— 20 


342  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

During  the  time  that  this  wonderful  change  was  being  wrought,  it  may 
be  asked  if  the  Indians  as  a  body  have  made  any  progress  toward  civiliza- 
tion, and  in  the  light  of  past  history  we  would  be  prompted  to  reply : 
Why  should  they  have  abandoned  the  modes  of  life  which  Nature  had 
given  them  to  adopt  the  customs  of  their  enemies? 

In  seeking  the  evidences  of  enlightenment  the  results  are  not  satisfactory. 
It  is  presumed  that  there  is  not  a  race  of  wild  men  on  the  face  of  the  globe 
who  worship  the  Great  Spirit  more  in  accordance  with  that  religion  taught 
in  the  days  of  the  patriarchs  than  the  natives  of  this  country,  and  yet 
after  many  years  of  contact  with  the  civilized  people  the  footprints  of 
evil  were  as  plentiful  and  as  common  as  the  evidences  of  Christianity. 
Again,  in  early  days  the  Indian  tribes  were  to  a  considerable  extent  tillers 
of  the  soil,  but  by  constant  warfare,  in  which  their  fields  were  devastated 
and  their  crops  destroyed,  they  have  become  the  mere  remnant  of  their 
former  strength,  or  were  pushed  out  on  the  vast  plains  of  the  West  where 
they  subsisted  upon  wild  fruits  and  the  flesh  of  animals.  Could  we  obtain 
accurate  statistics,  we  would  undoubtedly  find  that  there  were  more  acres 
of  ground  cultivated  by  the  Indians  one  hundred  years  ago  than  at  the 
present  time.  The  white  race  had  finally  obtained  such  complete  control 
of  every  quarter  of  the  country,  and  the  means  of  communication  with 
every  section  became  so  ample  that  the  problem  resolved  itself  into  one  or 
the  other  of  two  modes  of  solution,  viz.,  to  entirely  destroy  the  race  by 
banishment  and  extermination,  or  to  adopt  some  humane  and  practicable 
method  of  improving  the  condition  of  the  Indians,  and  in  the  end  make 
them  part  and  parcel  of  our  great  population.  The  first  proposition, 
though  it  was  found  to  have  thousands  of  advocates  in  different  sections 
of  the  country,  was  and  is  too  abhorrent  to  every  sense  of  humanity  to  be 
considered.  The  other  method  was  regarded  as  practicable,  but  its  adop- 
tion was  considered  doubtful. 

Looking  at  the  purpose  of  our  government  toward  the  Indians,  we  find 
that  after  subjugating  them  it  has  been  our  policy  to  collect  the  different 
tribes  on  reservations  and  support  them  at  the  expense  of  our  people.  The 
Indians  have  in  the  main  abandoned  the  hope  of  driving  back  the  invaders 
of  their  territory,  yet  there  are  still  some  who  cherish  the  thought,  and 
strange  as  it  may  seem  it  is  a  fact  that  the  most  noted  leader  among  the 
Indians  advanced  such  a  proposition  to  the  writer  within  the  last  few 
years.  They  long  stood,  and  mostly  still  stand,  in  the  position  of  unruly 
children  to  indulgent  parents  for  whom  they  have  very  little  respect,  at 
times  wrongly  indulged  and  again  unmercifully  punished. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  345 

Coming  down  to  our  direct  or  immediate  relations  with  them  we  find 
that  our  policy  has  been  to  make  them  wards  of  the  nation,  to  be  held 
under  close  military  surveillance,  or  else  to  make  them  pensioners  under 
no  other  restraint  than  the  influence  of  one  or  two  individuals.  Living 
under  the  government,  yet  without  any  legitimate  government,  without 
any  law  and  without  any  physical  power  to  control  them,  what  better  sub- 
jects or  more  propitious  fields  could  be  found  for  vice  and  crime? 

We  have  committed  our  Indian  matters  to  the  custody  of  an  Indian 
bureau  which  for  many  years  was  a  part  of  the  military  establishment  of 
the  government ;  but  for  political  reasons  and  to  promote  party  interests, 
this  bureau  was  transferred  to  the  department  of  the  interior. 

Whether  or  not  our  system  of  Indian  management  has  been  a  success 
during  the  past  ten,  fifty,  or  one  hundred  years,  is  almost  answered  in  the 
asking.  The  Indians,  the  frontiersmen,  the  army  stationed  in  the  West, 
and  the  readers  of  the  daily  news  in  all  parts  of  our  country  can  answer 
that  question.  There  is  another  question  that  is  frequently  asked:  Why 
has  our  management  of  Indian  affairs  been  less  successful  than  that  of  our 
neighbors  across  the  northern  boundary?  and  it  can  be  answered  in  a  few 
words.  Their  system  is  permanent,  decided  and  just.  The  tide  of  immi- 
gration in  Canada  has  not  been  as  great  as  along  our  frontier.  They  have 
been  able  to  allow  the  Indians  to  live  as  Indians,  which  we  have  not,  and 
do  not  attempt  to  force  upon  them  the  customs  which  to  them  are 
distasteful.  In  our  own  management  it  has  all  the  time  been  the  opinion 
of  a  very  large  number  of  our  people  that  a  change  for  the  better  would 
be  desirable.  We  have  the  singular  and  remarkable  phenomenon  presented 
of  the  traders,  the  contractors,  the  interested  officials  of  the  West,  and 
many  of  the  best  people  of  the  East,  advocating  one  scheme,  while  a  great 
majority  of  frontier  settlers,  the  officers  of  the  army  of  long  experience  on 
the  plains,  and  many  competent  judges  in  the  East,  advocated  another. 
The  question  has  at  the  same  time  been  one  of  too  grave  importance  to 
admit  interests  of  a  personal  or  partisan  nature.  It  is  one  of  credit  or 
discredit  to  our  government,  and  of  vital  importance  to  our  people.  In 
order  that  peace  may  be  permanently  secured,  the  Indians  benefited,  and 
protection  assured  to  the  extensive  settlements  scattered  over  a  greater 
area  than  the  whole  of  the  Atlantic  States,  it  is  believed  that  a  plan  could 
be  devised  which  would  enlist  the  hearty  approval  and  support  of  men  of 
all  parties.  The  object  is  surely  worthy  of  the  effort.  No  body  of  people 
whose  language,  religion,  and  customs  are  so  entirely  different  from  ours 
can  be  expected  to  cheerfully  and  suddenly  adopt  our  own.  The  change 


346  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

must  be  gradual,  continuous,  and  in  accordance  with  Nature's  laws.  The 
history  of  nearly  every  race  that  has  advanced  from  barbarism  to  civiliza- 
tion has  been  through  the  stages  of  the  hunter,  the  herdsman,  the  agricul- 
turist, and  has  finally  reached  those  of  commerce,  mechanics  and  the 
higher  arts. 

It  is  held,  first,  that  we,  as  a  generous  people  and  liberal  government, 
are  bound  to  give  to  the  Indians  the  same  rights  that  all  other  men  enjoy, 
and  if  we  deprive  them  of  their  ancient  privileges  we  must  then  give  them 
the  best  government  possible.  Without  any  legitimate  government,  and 
in  a  section  of  country  where  the  lawless  are  under  very  little  restraint,  it 
is  useless  to  suppose  that  thousands  of  wild  savages  thoroughly  armed  and 
mounted  can  be  controlled  by  moral  suasion.  Even  if  they  were  in  the 
midst  of  comfortable  and  agreeable  surroundings,  yet  when  dissatisfaction 
is  increased  by  partial  imprisonment  and  quickened  by  the  pangs  of 
hunger — a  feeling  that  is  not  realized  by  one  man  in  a  thousand  in  civilized 
life — It  requires  more  patience  and  forbearance  than  savage  natures  are 
likely  to  possess  to  prevent  serious  outbreaks. 

The  experiment  of  making  a  police  force  composed  entirely  of  Indians 
is  a  dangerous  one  unless  they  are  under  the  shadow  and  control  of  a 
superior  body  of  white  troops,  and,  if  carried  to  any  great  extent,  will 
result  in  rearming  the  Indians  and  work  disastrously  to  the  frontier  settle- 
ments. There  would  be  a  something  absurd  in  a  government  out  on  the 
remote  frontier  composed  of  a  strictly  noncombatant  as  chief,  with  a 
posse  comitatus  of  red  warriors,  undertaking  to  control  several  thousand 
wild  savages. 

The  advantage  of  placing  the  Indians  under  some  government  strong 
enough  to  control  them  and  just  enough  to  command  their  respect  is  too 
apparent  to  admit  of  argument.  The  results  to  be  obtained  would  be: 

First.  They  would  be  beyond  the  possibility  of  doing  harm,  and  the 
frontier  settlements  would  be  freed  from  their  terrifying  and  devastating 
presence. 

Second.  They  would  be  under  officials  having  a  knowledge  of  the  Indian 
country  and  the  Indian  character. 

Third.  Their  supplies  and  annuities  would  be  disbursed  through  an 
efficient  system  of  regulations. 

Fourth.  Besides  being  amenable  to  the  civil  laws,  these  officers 
would  be  under  strict  military  law,  subject  to  trial  and  punishment 
for  any  act  that  would  be  "unbecoming  a  gentleman,  or  prejudicial  to 
good  order." 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  347 

It  is  therefore  suggested  and  earnestly  recommended  that  a  system 
which  has  heretofore  proved  to  be  eminently  practicable  should  in  the 
next  emergency  receive  at  least  a  fair  trial.  As  the  government  has  in 
its  employ  men  who  by  long  and  faithful  service  have  established  reputa- 
tions for  integrity,  character  and  ability  which  cannot  be  disputed  ;  men 
who  have  commanded  armies,  reconstructed  States,  controlled  hundreds  of 
millions  of  public  property,  and  who  during  years  of  experience  on  the 
frontier  have  opened  the  way  for  civilization  and  Christianity,  it  is  believed 
that  the  services  of  these  officials,  in  efforts  to  prevent  war  and  elevate 
the  Indian  race,  would  be  quite  as  judicious  as  their  employment  when 
inexperience  and  mismanagement  have  culminated  in  hostilities.  Allow- 
ing the  civilized  and  semi-civilized  Indians  to  remain  under  the  same 
supervision  as  at  present,  the  President  of  the  United  States  should  have 
power  to  place  at  any  time  the  wild  and  nomadic  tribes  under  the  control 
of  the  War  Department.  Officers  of  known  character,  integrity  and  experi- 
ence, who  would  govern  them  and  be  interested  in  improving  their  condi- 
tion, should  be  placed  in  charge  of  the  different  tribes.  One  difficulty  has 
been  that  they  have  been  managed  by  officials  too  far  away,  and  who  knew 
nothing  of  the  men  they  were  dealing  with.  The  Indians,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, should  be,  as  they  now  mostly  are,  localized  on  the  public  domain,  in 
sections  of  country  to  which  they  are  by  nature  adapted. 

The  forcing  of  strong,  hardy,  mountain  Indians  from  the  extreme 
North  to  the  warmer  malarial  districts  of  the  South  was  cruel,  and  the 
experiment  should  never  be  repeated. 

Every  effort  should  be  made  to  locate  the  Indians  by  families,  for  the 
ties  of  relationship  among  them  are  much  stronger  than  is  generally  sup- 
posed. By  this  means  the  Indians  will  become  independent  of  their  tribal 
relations,  and  will  not  be  found  congregated  in  the  large  and  unsightly 
camps  that  are  now  usually  met  with  about  their  agencies. 

All  supplies,  annuities  and  disbursements  of  money  should  be  made 
under  the  same  system  of  accountability  that  now  regulates  army  dis- 
bursements. The  officers  in  charge  should  have  sufficient  force  to  preserve 
order,  patrol  reservations,  prevent  intrusions,  recover  stolen  property, 
arrest  the  lawless  and  those  who  take  refuge  in  Indian  camps  to  shield 
themselves  from  punishment  for  crime  or  with  the  object  of  enabling  them 
to  live  without  labor,  and  to  keep  the  Indians  upon  their  reservations  and 
within  the  limits  of  their  treaties.  The  officer  in  charge  would  be  enabled 
to  control  or  prevent  the  sale  of  ammunition,  as  well  as  to  suppress  the 
sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  among  the  Indians.  Many  thousands  of  the 


348         PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  GEN'L  NELSON  A.  MILES. 

Indian  ponies,  useful  only  for  the  war  or  the  chase,  should  be  sold  and  the 
proceeds  used  in  the  purchase  of  domestic  stock.  A  large  percent- 
age of  the  annual  appropriations  should  be  employed  in  the  purchase  of 
cattle  and  other  domestic  animals ;  the  Indians  desire  them,  and  their 
reservations  even  now  support  many  thousands  of  them.  They  have 
already  replaced  the  buffalo,  and  must  finally  replace  the  elk,  the  deer  and 
the  antelope.  From  a  nomadic  pastoral  people  the  Indians  should  be 
induced  to  become  agriculturists  and  taught  the  use  of  machinery  as  a 
means  of  obtaining  food.  The  step  from  the  first  grade  to  the  second 
would  be  easily  accomplished,  provided  the  Indians  were  directed  by  a 
firm  hand.  As  they  accumulate  property  and  learn  industry  there  have 
already  been  shown  strong  incentives  to  their  remaining  at  peace,  namely : 
occupation,  the  fear  of  confiscation  of  property,  and  the  loss  of  the  com- 
forts of  life. 

Two  more  important  measures  of  improvement  are  also  needed,  and 
should  be  authorized  by  Congress. 

In  all  communities  there  will  be  found  disturbing  elements,  and  to 
meet  this  difficulty,  courts  of  justice  should  be  instituted.  Frequently 
outbreaks  and  depredations  are  prompted  by  a  few  mischievous  charac- 
ters, which  could  easily  be  checked  by  a  proper  government.  This  is  one 
secret  of  success  with  the  Canadian  system;  where  disturbances  occur,  the 
guilty  suffer,  and  not  whole  tribes,  including  innocent  women  and  children. 

As  a  remark  from  Sitting  Bull  has  been  quoted,  we  will  now  repeat  the 
words  of  Joseph,  who  said  that  "the  greatest  want  of  the  Indian  is  a 
system  of  law  by  which  controversies  between  Indians  and  white  men  can 
be  settled  without  appealing  to  physical  force."  He  says  also  that  "  the 
want  of  law  is  the  great  source  of  disorder  among  Indians.  They  under- 
stand the  operation  of  laws,  and,  if  there  were  any  statutes,  the  Indians 
would  be  perfectly  content  to  place  themselves  in  the  hands  of  a  proper 
tribunal,  and  would  not  take  the  righting  of  their  wrongs  into  their  own 
hands,  or  retaliate,  as  they  do  now,  without  the  law." 

Do  we  need  a  savage  to  inform  us  of  the  necessity  that  has  existed  for 
a  century?  As  these  people  become  a  part  of  our  population,  they  should 
have  some  tribunal  where  they  could  obtain  protection  in  their  rights  of 
person  and  property.  A  dispute  as  to  the  rights  of  property  between  an 
Indian  and  a  white  man  before  a  white  jury  might  not  be  decided  in  exact 
accordance  with  justice  in  some  localities.  Fortunately  our  Constitution 
provides  that  "  the  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in 
one  Supreme  Court,  and  such  inferior  courts  as  Congress  may  from  time  to 


FACES  OF  NOTED  INDIANS. 


1.  Spotted  Tall,  Sioux  Chief,  Rosebud  Agency,  Dakota. 

2.  Iron  Wing,  Sioux  Chief,  Rosebud  Agency,  Dakota. 

8.  American  Horse,  Sioux  Chief,  Pine  Ridge  Agency, 
Dakota. 

4.  Red  Shirt,  Sioux  Chief,  Pine  Ridge  Agency,  Dakota. 

5.  White  Eagle,  Ponca  Chief,  Indian  Territory. 

6.  Standing  Buffalo,  Ponca  Chief,  Indian  Territory. 

7.  Poor  Wolf,  Mandan  Chief,  Fort  Berthold,  Dakota. 

8.  Son-of-the-Star,    Arickaree    Chief,  Fort   Berthold, 

Dakota. 


9.  White  Man,  Apache  Chief,  Indian  Territory. 

10.  Stumbling  Bear,  Kiowa  Chief,  Indian  Territory. 

11.  Tso-de-ar-ko.  Wichita  Chief,  Indian  Territory. 

12.  Big  Horse.  Cheyenne  Chief,  Indian  Territory. 
IS.  Bob  Tail,  Cheyenne  Chief,  Indian  Territory. 

14.  Man-on-the-Cloud,  Cheyenne  Chief,  Indian  Territory. 

15.  Mad  Wolf,  Cheyenne  Chief,  Indian  Territory. 

16.  Little  Raven,  Arapahoe  Chief,  Indian  Territory. 

17.  Yellow  Bear,  Arapahoe  Chief,  Indian  Territory. 

18.  Left  Hand,  Arapahoe  Chief,  Indian  Territory, 

[349] 


350  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

time  ordain  and  establish;"  and  it  is  believed  that  Congress  has  power,  at 
least  in  the  Territories,  to  give  such  jurisdiction  either  to  the  military  courts, 
or  the  Territorial  courts,  or  both,  as  will  secure  justice  to  the  Indians  in  all 
disputes  arising  between  the  Indians  and  the  white  men. 

That  warriors  may  be  made  to  care  for  their  flocks  and  herds  has  been 
demonstrated,  and  the  industry  of  the  Indians  that  is  now  wasted  may  be 
still  further  diverted  to  peaceful  and  useful  pursuits ;  yet  the  great  work 
of  reformation  must  be  mainly  through  the  youth  of  the  different  tribes. 
The  hope  of  every  race  is  in  the  rising  generation.  This  important  work 
seems  now  to  have  enlisted  the  sympathy  and  support  of  all  philanthropic 
and  Christian  people.  As  we  are  under  obligation  to  support  the  tribes 
until  they  become  self-sustaining,  it  is  undoubtedly  advisable  to  support 
as  many  as  possible  of  the  children  of  the  Indians  at  places  where  they 
would  be  the  least  expensive  to  the  government,  and  where  they  would  be 
under  the  best  influence.  The  children  must  not  be  exposed  to  the  degrad- 
ing influence  of  camp  life,  and  the  constant  moving  of  the  tribes  destroys 
the  best  efforts  of  instructors.  The  children  that  are  taught  the  English 
language,  habits  of  industry,  the  benefits  of  civilization,  the  power  of  the 
white  race,  after  a  few  years,  return  to  their  people  with  some  education, 
with  more  intelligence,  and  with  their  ideas  of  life  entirely  changed  for 
the  better.  They  naturally  in  turn  become  the  educators  of  their  own 
people,  and  their  influence  for  good  cannot  be  estimated.  Finally,  the 
Indians,  as  they  become  civilized  and  educated,  as  they  acquire  property  and 
pay  taxes  toward  the  support  of  the  government,  should  have  the  same 
rights  of  citizenship  that  all  other  men  enjoy. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  should  have  power  to  transfer  from 
the  War  Department  to  the  Interior  Department  any  tribe  that  shall 
become  so  far  civilized  and  peaceable  in  its  disposition  as  to  render  it 
unnecessary  to  keep  its  members  longer  under  the  control  of  the  military 
power. 

Whenever  an  emergency  arises  which  has  not  been  foreseen  and  pro- 
vided for  by  Congress,  such  as  failure  or  destruction  of  their  crops,  the 
President  should  have  power,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  officer  in 
charge  or  the  governors  of  the  different  Territories  in  which  the  Indians 
are  living,  to  order  the  necessary  supplies,  as  has  been  done  in  several 
instances  to  white  people,  in  order  to  prevent  great  suffering  or  a  serious 
disturbance  of  the  peace ;  such  supplies  to  be  limited  to  the  smallest 
necessity,  and  only  until  such  time  as  Congress  could  take  action  on  the 
matter. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


351 


A  race  of  savages  cannot  by  any  human  ingenuity  be  civilized  and 
Christianized  within  a  few  years  of  time,  neither  will  250,000  people  with 
their  descendants  be  entirely  exterminated  in  the  next  fifty  years.  The 
white  man  and  the  Indian  should  be  taught  to  live  side  by  side,  each 
respecting  the  rights  of  the  other,  and  both  living  under  wholesome  laws, 
enforced  by  ample  authority  and  with  exact  justice.  Such  a  government 
would  be  most  gratifying  and  beneficial  to  the  Indians,  while  those  men 
who  have  invested  their  capital,  and  with  wonderful  enterprise  are  devel- 
oping the  unparalleled  and  inexhaustible  wealth  that  for  ages  has  lain 
dormant  in  the  western  mountains;  those  people  who  have  left  the  over- 
crowded centers  of  the  East,  and  whose  humble  homes  are  now  dotting 
the  plains  and  valleys  of  the  far  West,  as  well  as  those  men  who  are 
annually  called  upon  to  endure  greater  exposure  and  suffering  than  is 
required  by  the  troops  of  any  other  nation  on  the  globe,  would  hail  with 
great  satisfaction  any  system  that  would  secure  a  substantial  and  lasting 
peace. 


352  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 
JOURNEY  WESTWARD. 

PROMOTION       PROM       COLONEL       TO      BRIGADIER-GENERAL  —  BEGINNING     OP     JOURNEY     WEST- 
WARD—  ORIGIN    OF    DENVER  —  THE    GOLD   SEEKERS  FROM    GEORGIA  —  FROM    LAWRENCE 
AND    LEAVENWORTH  —  THE    KECORD    ON    THE     ROCKS  —  THE    TOWN    OP    MON- 
TANA—  THE    KANSAS    COMMISSIONERS  —  ARAPAHOE    COUNTY  —  OVERLAND 
COMMUNICATION — VICE    IN    THE    EARLY    TIMES  —  A    HISTORIC 
TREE — THE  FIRST  RAILROAD  —  THE  DENVER  OP  TO-DAY. 

AVING  been  summoned  to  Washington  to  receive  my  promo- 
tion to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general  in  November,  1880,  I 
took  leave  of  the  Fifth  United  States  Infantry  by  the  follow- 
ing order: 

FORT  KEOGH,  MONTANA,  November  20,  1880. 
GENERAL  ORDERS. 

In  relinquishing  command  of  the  Fifth  U.  S.  Infantry  the  regimental  commander 
desires  to  manifest  his  gratitude  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  this  command  for  the 
zeal  and  loyalty  with  which  every  duty  has  been  performed,  however  difficult  and  haz- 
ardous. He  desires  also  to  express  his  appreciation  and  acknowledgements  of  the  most 
valuable  services  of  this  command  and  the  gallantry  displayed  in  moments  of  great 
danger. 

For  twenty-five  years  the  Fifth  Infantry  has  served  continually  west  of  the  Mississippi 
River  and  rendered  most  important  service  in  the  campaigns  against  the  Utes  and  Apaches 
of  Utah  and  Wyoming,  the  Navajos  of  New  Mexico,  the  Comanches,  Kiowas  and  Chey- 
ennes  of  Texas,  Indian  Territory,  Colorado  and  Kansas,  and  the  Sioux,  Nez  Percys  and 
Bannocks  of  the  Northwest. 

During  the  past  eleven  years  the  undersigned  has  been  in  command  of  this  regiment, 
and  in  that  time,  by  long  and  intimate  association,  there  has  been  engendered  a  feeling  of 
the  strongest  attachment  and  highest  regard. 

For  the  success  that  has  attended  our  efforts  the  Commanding  Officer  desires  to  render 
to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  this  command  their  full  share  of  credit. 

In  taking  leave  of  a  command  in  which  he  has  always  felt  a  just  pride,  it  occasions  deep 
regret  that,  in  the  exigencies  of  the  service  and  the  various  changes  incident  thereto,  we 
are  separated  in  distant  fields  of  duty. 

[Signed.]  NELSON  A.  MILES, 

Colonel   and  Brevet  Major-General. 

I  reported  in  Washington,  where  I  remained  on  duty  during  the  winter 
of  1880-81,  and  was  then  assigned  to  the  Department  of  the  Columbia. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  353 

On  my  way  to  my  new  post  of  duty,  I  passed  through  the  cities  of  Chicago, 
St.  Louis,  Kansas  City,  Denver,  Salt  Lake  and  San  Francisco,  stopping  a 
few  days  in  each. 

In  this  journey  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  pass  through  an  interesting 
zone  of  our  country,  and  to  see  the  progress  that  was  being  rapidly  made 
at  that  time  in  the  civilization  of  the  great  West.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  describe  the  moral,  intellectual  and  industrial  progress  that  had  then, 
and  has  since,  been  developed.  I  would  be  very  glad  to  describe  some  of 
the  principal  towns  and  cities  that  were  then  and  are  now  in  course 
of  rapid  development,  but  the  want  of  time  and  space  renders  it  im- 
possible. 

I  will  mention,  however,  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  those  twin  cities  of 
marvelous  enterprise,  of  great  industrial  resources,  the  center  of  a  vast 
productive  region,  located  near  the  magnificent  Falls  of  Saint  Anthony 
on  the  upper  Mississippi.  These  two  great  cities  were  for  years  rivals,  but 
are  gradually  growing  together  to  form  one  great  commercial  and  indus- 
trial center,  and  embracing  within  their  borders  the  beautiful  Falls  of 
Minnehaha,  which  Longfellow  has  described  in  classic  verse.  I  would  also 
love  to  describe  other  cities,  like  Helena  and  Butte,  Montana,  made  rich 
by  the  mines  of  marvelous  wealth  found  stored  in  the  mountains  in  the 
vicinity  of  these  two  cities. 

Omaha  is  another  city  of  wonderful  growth,  of  wealth,  progress  and 
development,  and  the  center  of  one  of  the  richest  agricultural  districts  of 
the  United  States.  The  same  can  be  said  of  Kansas  City.  Colorado  City 
is  noted  for  its  healthful  climate,  wonderful  springs  and  beautiful  scenery, 
and  Trinidad  for  its  iron  and  coal  mines  and  steel  works ;  while  Los 
Angeles,  California,  is  the  center  of  commerce  and  communication  of 
Southern  California. 

Portland,  Oregon;  Spokane,  Washington;  Greely,  Colorado;  and  Salt 
Lake  City,  Utah,  are  all  interesting  and  fair  types  of  our  western  towns 
and  cities,  and  have  grown  up  practically  within  the  last  thirty  years. 

I  will  pause  in  this  journey  west,  however,  long  enough  to  give  some 
description  of  Denver,  Colorado,  which  is  a  fair  type  of  many  of  our 
modern,  typical  American  western  cities. 

Denver  is  the  chief  city  of  one  of  the  largest  states  in  the  Union,  and 
the  center  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  country.    On  the  7th  of  February,  1858, 
eight  men  left  their  homes  in  Dawson  County,  Georgia,  bound  for  the 
wild  Rocky  Mountain  region  in  search  of  gold.     These  daring  explorers  — 
who  might  have  suggested  Whittier's  beautiful  lines : 


354  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

"  I  hear  the  tread  of  pioneers 

Of  nations  yet  to  be, 
The  first  low  wash  of  waves  where  soon 
Shall  roll  a  human  sea." — 

were  the  avant-couriers  of  the  grand  army  that  presently  followed  to  par- 
ticipate in  gleaning  the  precious  deposits  they  had  been  the  first  to 
discover.  They  arrived  in  Kansas  early  in  May,  where  their  party  was 
increased  by  the  addition  of  ten  other  men. 

These  gold-seekers  left  Leavenworth  about  the  middle  of  May,  and 
crossed  the  Kansas  River  at  Fort  Riley,  striking  out  from  that  point  across 
the  country  to  the  old  Santa  Fe  trail,  arriving  at  the  mouth  of  Cherry  Creek, 
Colorado,  on  the  23d  of  June,  1858.  On  the  Pawnee  Fork,  Kansas,  a  party  of 
Cherokee  Indians  were  overtaken,  who  traveled  to  Cherry  Creek  in  company 
with  them.  Unsettled  as  to  future  proceeding,  the  Indians  remained 
at  Cherry  Creek,  while  the  others  hastened  to  Ralston  Creek,  where  they 
hoped  to  find  the  treasure  of  which  they  were  in  pursuit.  Three  days  of 
anxious  search,  however,  brought  no  better  reward  than  a  very  meagre 
quantity  of  gold  particles,  the  shadows,  so  to  speak,  of  the  substance  they 
were  seeking ;  but  still  to  them  an  evidence  that  gold  was  somewhere  in 
that  region,  and  with  what  courage  they  could  summon  they  resolved  to 
prospect  thoroughly. 

Ralston  Creek  lies  about  eight  miles  distant  from  the  mouth  of  Cherry 
Creek,  their  first  halting  place,  and  the  Cherokees  being  still  there  the 
company  decided  to  return  and  make  that  point  their  base  of  operations. 
To  do  this  they  recrossed  the  Platte  River,  but  found  upon  joining  them 
that  the  Indians  had  determined  to  return  to  their  own  nation,  and  accord- 
ingly they  started  on  the  following  day,  leaving  the  explorers  with  the 
whole  range  of  mountains,  the  various  creeks  and  their  tributaries,  the 
canons  beyond,  and  the  plains  stretching  out  in  the  distance,  from  which 
to  choose  a  beginning  for  their  investigations. 

Possessed  of  marked  constancy  to  a  purpose  once  formed,  the  leader  of 
the  company,  upon  observing  signs  of  discontent  among  some  of  his  com- 
panions, declared  firmly  his  purpose  to  prospect  the  country  even  if  he 
did  it  alone,  and  to  that  end  he  proceeded  to  work  with  untiring  patience, 
closely  examining  the  soil  in  every  direction.  Meanwhile  Lawrence, 
Kansas,  was  being  excited  by  whispers  of  golden  sands  to  be  found  in  the 
water  around  Pike's  Peak.  Two  Delaware  Indians,  Fall  Leaf  and  Little 
Beaver,  brought  the  stofy  that  gold  in  paying  quantities  was  to  be  found 
in  those  streams,  and  very  secretly  a  company  was  organized  at  the  old 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  355 

Commercial  Hotel  in  that  city  to  cross  the  desert  on  a  tour  of  discovery. 
Fall  Leaf  claimed  the  distinction  of  having  been  a  guide  to  Fremont  on 
one  of  his  exploring  expeditions,  and  as  in  Fremont's  report  mention  is 
made  of  two  Delaware  Indians,  "  a  fine  looking  old  man  and  his  son," 
engaged  to  accompany  that  expedition  as  hunters,  Fall  Leaf  and  Little 
Beaver  may  have  been  the  Indians  with  Fremont,  although  they  were  not 
so  designated  by  name  in  his  journal.  Fall  Leaf  contracted  to  guide  the 
party  formed  at  the  Commercial  Hotel  to  a  locality  where  gold  could  be 
found  near  Pike's  Peak.  He  was  to  receive  five  dollars  per  day  for  such 
service  until  satisfactorily  performed;  but  pending  the  deliberations  of  the 
party  he  was  to  lead,  a  fall  from  his  horse  while  in  a  state  of  intoxication 
disabled  him,  upon  which  they  resolved  to  proceed  notwithstanding  and 
prosecute  their  investigation  without  a  guide.  On  May  22,  1858,  close 
upon  the  departure  of  the  company  from  Leavenworth,  this  Lawrence 
party,  numbering  forty-four,  two  of  whom  were  women  accompanying 
their  husbands,  started  from  Kansas  to  cross  the  plains  with  eleven  wagons 
and  provisions  for  six  months.  From  their  course  over  the  Santa  Fe  trail 
the  travelers  approached  Pueblo,  and  having  joined  some  members  of 
the  Leavenworth  party  were  with  them  on  the  6th  of  July,  1858, 
encamped  upon  the  same  ground  in  the  Garden  of  the  Gods,  where 
Long's  expedition  had  rested  thirty-eight  years  before.  There  is  not  a 
trace  of  the  Long  explorers  left  there,  while  the  pioneers  of  1858  have 
graven  upon  the  rocks  a  record  of  their  presence,  an  interesting  testimo- 
nial now  plainly  visible.  Inside  one  of  the  gateways  on  the  great  sentinel 
stones  appear  the  names  of  several  of  the  party  with  the  year  "1858"  cut 
beneath  them. 

Members  of  both  companies  had  prospected  in  various  directions  for 
the  treasure  sought  without  success,  until  it  was  told  them  one  day  that 
those  who  had  remained  behind  were  washing  from  the  sands  of  the  Platte 
River  about  three  dollars  a  day  to  the  man.  This  news  reached  them  in 
September,  after  three  months'  fruitless  quest,  and  they  hastened  to  the 
locality  where  fortune  smiled,  and  found  that  not  only  were  the  other 
members  from  the  Leavenworth  company  washing  gold  from  the  sands, 
but  that  also  a  man  named  John  Rooker,  together  with  his  son,  had  come 
in  from  Salt  Lake  to  enjoy  a  like  prosperity.  The  staying  qualities  of  the 
leader  of  the  Leavenworth  company  served  him  well.  Here,  within  a 
radius  of  ten  miles  from  the  point  where  he  first  stopped,  he  had  by  dint 
of  sheer  perseverance  found  in  the  sands  golden  returns  so  valuable  as  to 
induce  the  whole  party  to  become  settlers  on  the  ground  and  hold  it  under 


356 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


the  title  of  squatter  sovereignty,  and  to  found  a  town  which  they  named 
Montana. 

On  the  4th  of  September,  1858,  there  were  assembled  at  this  point 
on  the  Platte  River,  some  five  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Cherry  Creek,  por- 
tions of  the  Leavenworth  company  and  of  the  Lawrence  company,  and  the 
Mormon  family  consisting  of  four  persons — a  colony  numbering  a  little 
over  fifty.  Illustrative  of  the  American  character  it  has  been  said  that  if 
a  dozen  were  gathered  anywhere,  even  at  the  most  distant  portion  of  the 
globe,  they  would  be  found  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  framing  a  con- 


As  EARLY  FINDING  IN  COLORADO. 

stitution  and  making  laws  for  self-government.  True  to  the  instinct  of 
the  race  this  little  band  of  pioneers  far  beyond  the  outposts  of  civilization 
were  making  this  their  first  care.  Montana,  on  the  Platte  River,  burst 
abruptly  into  existence  governed  by  a  code  of  laws  framed  by  its  founders 
early  in  that  memorable  month  of  September,  1858,  although  it  was  not 
until  February  5,  1859,  that  a  charter  for  the  new  town  was  obtained  from 
the  legislature  of  Kansas. 

On  September  7,  1858,  William  McGaa,  who  subsequently  became  a 
local  celebrity  under  the  alias  of  "  Jack  Jones,"  arrived  at  the  town  of 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  357 

Montana  in  company  with  fourteen  men.  Curiously  enough,  within 
twenty  days  from  its  actual  settlement  this  infant  town  was  found  too 
small  to  contain  its  ambitious  inhabitants,  and  part  of  them  removed  to 
the  east  side  of  Cherry  Creek  and  laid  out  St.  Charles  on  the  identical 
site  of  what  is  now  Denver,  radiant  in  her  beauty  and  prosperity.  Thirty- 
seven  days  after  the  establishment  of  the  town  of  St.  Charles  another  town 
now  known  as  West  Denver  was  located  on  the  left  bank  of  Cherry  Creek, 
the  names  of  one  hundred  men  being  appended  to  its  articles  of  incorpo- 
ration. A  human  tide  may  be  said  to  have  set  in  this  direction,  and  in  the 
latter  days  of  October  two  merchants  arrived  with  general  stocks  of  goods 
and  were  soon  followed  by  a  number  of  others. 

Presently  the  advent  of  commissioners  from  Kansas,  delegated  by  the 
then  governor  of  that  Territory,  James  W.  Denver,  to  locate  the  tract  under 
the  title  "Arapahoe  County,  Kansas,"  attracted  attention.  These  function- 
aries arrived  on  the  12th  of  November,  1858,  and  on  the  16th  they,  together 
with  others  whom  they  associated  with  themselves,  took  formal  possession 
of  St.  Charles  and  called  it  Denver,  in  honor  of  the  Governor  of  Kansas,* 
and  without  loss  of  time  proceeded  to  arrange  blocks  and  streets  in  the 
incipient  "Queen  City  of  the  Plains." 

In  May,  1859,  gold  was  found  in  large  quantities,  and  from  that  time 
men  thronged  into  that  vicinity  by  the  thousand.  On  the  banks  of  the 
Platte  River,  outside  of  Denver,  there  were  lines  of  wagons  daily  waiting 
ferriage,  and  along  the  trail  to  the  gold  district  eager  crowds  jostled  each 
other  by  the  way ;  a  motley  concourse  of  travelers,  either  on  foot  or  going 
by  any  conveyance  capable  of  being  pressed  into  service.  Within  six 
months,  and  a  few  days  after  Kansas  bestowed  her  first  official  notice  upon 
this  section  of  the  country,  so  important  did  it  become  that  a  line  of 
coaches  was  established,  involving  an  expenditure  of  $800  daily,  and 
spanning  the  plains  from  Leavenworth  to  Denver.  In  June,  1859,  Horace 
Greeley  crossed  the  plains  in  one  of  these  new  coaches,  and  upon  his  arrival 
at  Denver  became  a  guest  at  its  only  hotel — the  Denver  House — a  log 
structure,  canvas-roofed  and  earthen-floored. 

As  Denver  increased  in  size  and  importance  she  also  increased  in 
depravity.  The  gilded  saloon  of  vice,  dissipation,  crime  and  iniquity  wel- 
comed its  votaries  and  victims  with  open  doors,  and  every  store  in  town 

*The  man  who  has  his  memorial  in  this  beautiful  city  occupies  hardly  a  page  in  the  history  of  Kansas. 
Denver  was  born  in  Virginia  in  1818.  He  emigrated  to  California  in  1850,  and  was  a  member  of  Congress  in  1854. 
During  the  Kansas  troubles  in  18o"  Denver  was  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  and  in  that  year  was  making  a 
visit  to  the  Indian  tribes  in  Kansas.  The  then  Governor  Stanton  took  some  official  action  not  approved  of  by 
President  Buchanan,  and  Denver  was  suddenly  made  Secretary  and  Acting  Governor  in  Stan  ton's  place.  He  was 
commissioned  a  brigadier-general  of  the  Union  forces  in  1861. 


358 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


carried  on  more  business  on  Sunday  than  upon  any  other  day  of  the  week. 
On  this  day  the  miners  left  their  claims  and  gathered  in  the  town ;  to  all 
it  was  a  gala  day.  Drunkenness,  brawls  and  street  fights  became  the 
standard  amusement,  and  murder  lifted  its  arm  and  smote  the  peace  and 
order  of  the  community.  Finally  civilization  brought  thither  a  better 
element,  and  sobriety,  peace,  order  and  prosperity  gradually  arose  from 
chaos  and  bloodshed.  Refinement  appeared  with  the  wives  and  daughters 
of  the  pioneers,  and  they  came  like  angels  bringing  the  blessings  of  home 


.  : 


PLACER  MINING  IN  1858. 


to  cover  the  debris  and  ashes  of  vice  and  crime.  The  schoolhouse,  the 
courthouse,  the  chimes  and  the  workshop  displaced  the  revelry  of  the 
dancehouseandthe  gambling  saloon.  Of  course  there  was  still  abroad  line 
between  the  law-abiding  community  and  the  turmoil  of  vice,  drunken- 
ness and  wanton  lawlessness.  The  violence  of  the  bad  was  checked  by 
the  violence  of  the  good.  The  long  outspreading  limb  of  the  historic 
cottonwood  that  grew  by  the  side  of  the  stream  beneath  the  shadow  of 
the  sentinel  peaks  of  the  snowy  range,  had  much  to  do  as  a  civilizing 
agent  with  the  peace  and  order  of  the  community,  and  the  perturbed 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  359 

spirits  of  many  outlaws  who  dangled  from  the  bough  still  haunt  the  super- 
stitious who  dwell  hard  by.  Such  was  Denver  in  the  early  days  of  the 
pioneer  and  hard-working  and  hard-drinking  miner,  and  such  she  became 
when  civilization  had  uprooted  the  gnarled  and  twisted  growth  whose 
roots  had  first  struck  into  the  virgin  soil. 

The  Denver  of  to-day  is  a  familiar  figure.  Steam  has  annihilated  space 
and  it  lies  at  our  doors.  It  is  a  beautiful  inland  city  of  trade  and  com- 
merce, the  commercial  and  political  center  of  the  rich  State  of  Colorado. 
It  is  situated  about  one  mile  above  sea  level,  and  covers  an  area  of  nearly 
ten  miles  north  and  south  and  six  miles  east  and  west.  On  the  east  the 
plains  descend  gradually  to  the  Missouri  River,  a  distance  of  near  six 
hundred  miles.  The  foot-hills,  which  run  nearly  north  and  south  through 
the  State,  begin  to  rise  about  fifteen  miles  west  of  the  city  and  gradually 
grow  more  abrupt  until  blended  into  the  snowy  range  fifty  miles  distant. 
Over  two  hundred  miles  of  this  mountain  range  and  foot-hills  can  be  seen 
from  Denver,  forming  a  grand  panoramic  view.  Probably  the  residents  of 
no  other  city  in  the  world  enjoy  such  a  continual  feast  of  ever-changing 
shade  and  color;  rocks,  trees,  plains  and  mountains  of  perpetual  snow. 
The  Platte  River  runs  through  the  center  of  the  city  from  south  to  north, 
toward  which  on  either  side  the  surface  gradually  declines,  affording  a 
most  perfect  system  of  both  surface  and  sanitary  drainage.  Following  the 
banks  of  the  river  on  either  side  are  the  railroad  tracks,  affording  ample 
trackage  for  large  manufactories,  stockyards,  packing  houses,  storehouses 
and  depots.  To  the  east  of  these  the  wholesale  houses  are  chiefly  located. 
Bordering  on  these  are  the  principal  retail  houses,  and  to  the  east  and 
west  the  residences.  The  more  pretentious  and  expensive  residences  are 
located  on  what  is  known  as  Capitol  Hill.  The  Highlands  on  the  west 
of  the  river  are  by  many  considered  a  very  healthy  and  attractive  part  of 
the  city;  while  South  Denver,  a  level  plateau  lying  about  one  hundred  feet 
above  the  river,  contains  a  large  number  of  fine  residences. 

Probably  no  city  in  the  Union  is  so  thoroughly  cosmopolitan.  This 
may  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  it  is  a  new  city,  in  which  live  but  few 
people  who  were  born  and  who  have  grown  to  manhood  within  her  limits. 
Every  nation  upon  the  globe  has  contributed  to  her  population.  Every 
country  has  been  drawn  upon  for  desirable  improvements  and  customs. 
The  soil  upon  which  the  city  is  built  is  a  sandy  loam,  therefore  dry  and 
healthy,  affording  most  perfect  natural  streets  except  in  the  center  of  the 
city,  where  they  are  paved  with  asphalt  or  block  stone.  It  is  preeminently 
a  city  of  homes.  The  laborer,  the  artisan,  the  manufacturer,  the  princely 

M— 21 


360  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

merchant,  the  ranch-owner  and  the  bonanza-miner  all  usually  own  their 
homes.  A  condition  which  has  largely  contributed  to  this  end,  especially 
among  the  middle  classes,  is  the  many  strong  and  well-conducted  building 
associations.  Owing  to  the  fire  limits  extending  well  out  into  the  suburbs, 
all  houses  are  built  of  fireproof  material,  either  brick  or  stone,  both  of  which 
are  furnished  in  a  great  variety  of  color  and  combination.  The  variety  of 
architecture  and  its  pleasing  effect  is  a  notable  feature.  Surrounding 
most  residences  are  spacious  and  beautifully-kept  lawns.  It  is  said  that  no 
city  of  its  size  in  the  United  States  has  such  magnificent  and  attractive 
public  buildings.  The  capitol,  costing  $2,000,000,  was  built  entirely  of 
Colorado  materials  by  Colorado  workmen. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  summer  climate  is  equal  to  that  of  the 
northern  lakes  and  of  Maine  on  the  Eastern  coast.  Denver  has  more  sun- 
shine, less  wind,  a  dryer  air  and  a  temperature  allowing  more  constant 
outdoor  life  than  any  other  city  in  the  country  approaching  it  in  size.  In 
a  period  of  thirteen  years  there  were  but  thirty-two  days  in  which  the  sun 
was  not  visible.  The  population  of  Denver  has  so  far  doubled  every  five 
years,  and  as  the  number  of  people  within  her  limits  in  1895  is  160,000,  it 
is  predicted  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  century  the  population  will 
be  320,000. 

The  first  railroad  to  reach  Denver  was  the  Kansas  Pacific,  now  a  branch 
of  the  Union  Pacific,  in  1870,  at  which  time  the  city  had  a  population  of 
less  than  5,000.  To-day  Denver  is  the  terminal  of  eight  trunk  lines,  which 
carry  freight  to  and  fro  over  28,000  miles  of  track,  passing  through  a 
country  but  partially  settled,  but  each  year  adding  to  its  population  and  to 
the  variety  and  volume  of  its  tonnage.  The  city  is  regarded  by  railroad 
men  as  the  strategic  point  which  will  eventually  regulate  a  vast  interior 
business,  as  it  is  a  geographical  as  well  as  a  commercial  and  manufactur- 
ing center. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  street  car  service  here  is  the  most  perfect  in  the 
world.  The  system  embraces  one  hundred  and  eighty-one  miles,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  of  which  are  electric.  Transfers  are  given  from 
line  to  line  so  that  one  can  ride  from  any  part  of  the  city  to  his  destination 
for  five  cents.  The  system  of  the  Denver  Union  Water  Company  supplies 
the  city  and  adjacent  suburbs,  all  being  furnished  from  the  same 
source.  It  has  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  mains  and  con- 
duits, varying  in  size  from  six  to  forty-four  inches  in  diameter.  Attached 
to  the  mains  are  twenty  thousand  service  pipes  supplying  water  for 
domestic  purposes. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


361 


Denver's  school  buildings  and  school  system  are  the  pride  and  boast  of 
her  people.  Distinguished  educators  from  the  east  are  filled  with  surprise 
and  admiration  for  both.  There  are  three  high  school  buildings,  one  of 
which  is  valued  at  three-fourths  of  a  million  dollars.  There  are  fifty 
graded  school  buildings  and  twenty-one  miscellaneous  private  and  sectarian 
schools.  There  are  also  eleven  academies  and  colleges.  There  are  nine 
public  and  private  libraries,  and  four  daily  and  seventy  weekly,  monthly  or 
quarterly  papers.  There  are  also  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  organized 
churches. 

The  city  has  six  national  banks,  whose  total  resources  January  1, 1895, 
were  nearly  $25,000,000.  The  deposits  aggregate  over  $17,000,000.  They 
have  a  total  surplus  of  $720,000,  and  the  capital  stock  paid  in  is  $4,100,000. 
Real  estate  transactions  in  1894  were  fairly  satisfactory  and  show  a  health- 
ful increase  over  those  of  1893,  and  were  far  in  advance  of  those  of  any 
other  city  of  her  class.  The  aggregate  transfers  for  the  year  rank  sixth  in 
volume  of  the  cities  of  the  United  States.  The  statistics  showing  the 
commercial  and  manufacturing  industries  are  equally  remarkable. 


362  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XXVni. 

SALT  LAKE  CITY  AND  THE  MORMONS. 

JOSEPH  SMITH  —  THE  MORMONS  IN  NEW  YORK,  OHIO,  MISSOURI  AND  ILLINOIS  —  THE  EXODUS 
ACROSS  THE  WILDERNESS  —  SALT  LAKE  —  BRIGHAM  YOUNG,  His  CHAR- 
ACTER AND  WORK  —  SALT  LAKE  CITY  Now. 
I 

ALT  LAKE  CITY  was  founded  by  the  Mormons  under  Brig- 
•;  ham  Young  in  1847,  and  in  this  brief  statement  is  embodied 
one  of  the  strangest  stories  in  the  annals  of  American  civili- 
zation. The  Mormons,  or,  as  they  call  themselves,  the 
"  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter- Day  Saints,"  form  a  religious 
sect  founded  by  one  Joseph  Smith,  whose  story  is  so  well 
known  as  to  make  it  unnecessary  to  more  than  barely  outline 
it  here.  Smith  was  born  in  Vermont,  but  while  a  child 
removed  with  his  parents  to  the  State  of  New  York.  He 
claimed  that  an  angel  appeared  to  him  and  informed  him  that  he  was  the 
instrument  chosen  to  inaugurate  a  new  gospel.  He  accepted  the  mission 
and  soon  collected  quite  a  number  of  followers.  These,  on  account  of  the 
prejudice  against  them  were  obliged  to  move  to  Ohio.  Later  a  colony  was 
established  in  Missouri  which  grew  rapidly.  About  this  time  a  body  of 
"apostles"  was  instituted  within  the  church,  and  among  the  number  of 
these  was  Brigham  Young,  who  had  become  a  convert  to  the  new  faith  in 
1832,  and  had  already  shown  himself  a  man  of  wonderful  sagacity  and 
force  of  character. 

In  1838  the  whole  body  of  the  so-called  "saints,"  some  fifteen  thousand 
in  number,  moved  to  Illinois.  Here  their  welcome  was  no  more  cordial 
than  it  had  been  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  and  before  long  Smith  and 
his  brother  found  themselves  in  jail.  Fearing  that  the  prisoners  might  be 
allowed  to  escape,  a  band  of  excited  men  broke  into  the  jail  and  killed 
both  of  them.  Brigham  Young  was  then  elected  as  Smith's  successor,  and 
as  the  hostility  against  them  did  not  abate,  the  Mormons,  under  his  guid- 
ance, all  started  for  the  West.  They  stopped  for  a  year  in  Iowa,  and  then 
under  the  strictest  discipline  marched  across  the  wilderness  to  the  Great 
Salt  Lake. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


363 


The  first  reference  to  this  lake  is  found  in  a  book  of  American  travels 
in  1689;  but  it  was  first  explored  and  described  by  John  C.  Fremont  in 
1842.  It  lies  in  a  great  valley  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  measures 
nearly  one  hundred  miles  in  length  by  a  little  less  than  fifty  in  breadth, 
and  its  waters  are  very  shallow.  Near  its  center  lie  a  group  of  islands, 
upon  some  of  which  are  found  springs  of  pure,  fresh  water,  although  the 
waters  of  the  lake  are  of  so  saline  a  character  that  from  seven  quarts 
boiled  down  there  can  be  extracted 
one  quart  of  pure  salt.  Yet  into  this 
lake  rivers  of  fresh  water  are 
pouring  continually ;  from 
the  south  the  fresh  waters  of 
Utah  Lake  find  their 
way  into  it  through  the 
channel  of  the  Jordan, 
while  from  the  north  it 
receives  the  water  of 
the  Bear  River,  a  swift 
mountain  stream. 
There  is  no  visible  out- 
let, and  its  superfluity 
of  water  is  supposed  to 
be  evaporated,  but  there 
are  many  who  believe 
in  the  existence  of  a 
subterranean  passage- 
way having  an  outlet 
at  some  undiscovered 
point. 

Geologists  declare  that  at  a  remote 
period  a  vast  sheet  of  water  filled  a  far 
greater  area  than  that  now  occupied  by 

the  Great  Salt  Lake.  In  the  mighty  intervals  of  time,  as  indefinite  as 
the  geological  periods,  certain  changes  in  the  rainfall  caused  the  waters 
to  evaporate  to  the  present  size  of  the  existing  lake.  This  theory  is  con- 
firmed by  the  various  terraces  running  in  long  parallel  lines  on  the  sides 
of  the  surrounding  Wasatch  Mountains.  These  terraces  mark  off  the  vari- 
ous intervals  at  which  the  waters  remained  stationary  for  a  while  in 
their  gradual  lessening  of  volume.  Another  remarkable  property  of  the 


BRIGIIAM  YOUNG. 


364 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


water  is  its  density.     It  is  next  to  impossible  to  sink  to  the  bottom,  for 
one  can  float  upon  the  surface  with  the  greatest  ease. 

The  so-called  "  Prophet,"  Brigham  Young,  declared  that  the  site  of  the 
forthcoming  city  was  indicated  to  him  in  a  vision  by  an  angel  who,  stand- 
ing on  a  conical  hill,  pointed  out  to  him  the  locality  where  the  new  temple 
must  be  built.  Upon  the  entry  of  the  Mormon  pioneers  into  the  Salt  Lake 
Basin  he  beheld  the  identical  mountain  he  had  seen  in  the  vision,  with  a 
stream  of  fresh  water  flowing  at  its  base.  The  Prophet  immediately  com- 
manded his  followers  to  halt  and  pitch  their  permanent  tents,  as  they  had 

finally  arrived  at  the  site  of  the 
city  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  He 
immediately  named  the  moun- 
tain Ensign 
Peak  and 
the  stream 
at  its  base 
City  Creek. 
Another 
1  a  r  g  e  r 
stream  of 
fresh  water 
he  named 

after  the  old  historical  stream 
of  the  Jews,  the  Jordan. 
Here  the  people  were  com- 
manded to  "wash"  as  of  old. 
When  the  Mormons  ar- 
rived in  the  valley  in  July, 
1847,  the  Territory  belonged  to  Mexico,  but  the  next  year  it  became, 
together  with  New  Mexico,  Arizona  and  the  whole  of  upper  California,  a 
portion  of  the  domain  of  the  United  States.  This  was  a  severe  blow  to 
the  designs  of  the  Prophet. 

With  the  Mexican  government  Brigham  Young  could,  in  his  remote 
fastnesses,  negotiate  his  own  terms  and  secure  for  himself  and  his  followers 
all  the  concessions  necessary  for  their  temporal  as  well  as  their  peculiar 
spiritual  welfare.  Here  they  could  revel  in  polygamy  and  indulge  in  all 
the  doctrines  declared  to  be  a  part  of  their  faith.  But  suddenly  the  war 
with  Mexico  closed,  and,  as  if  to  overthrow  their  schemes  in  this  remote 
section,  the  territory  on  which  they  had  already  begun  the  erection  of 


THE  MORMON  EXODUS. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  365 

their  temple  became  the  property  of  the  federal  government.  Still,  not 
to  be  defeated  in  his  original  enterprise,  the  Prophet  laid  claim  to  every- 
thing. Under  a  system  of  law  enacted  by  themselves,  and  in  the  absence 
of  federal  legislation  and  the  persons  and  powers  to  enforce  it,  all  this 
basin  and  nearly  every  arable  acre  of  soil  in  the  Territory  was  seized  and 
apportioned  to  their  own  uses.  Sparse  and  distant  settlements  were  created 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  maintaining  their  hold  upon  the  lands  they  had 
taken  possession  of,  and  the  authority  of  the  church,  through  its  great 
high  priest,  was  extended  in  all  directions.  Not  an  acre  of  land  should 
ever  be  in  such  condition  as  to  be  converted  to  the  use  or  benefit  of  the 
Gentile  element.  All  that  in  the  way  of  business  would  tend  to  attract 
them  thither  should  be  avoided.  Under  the  operations  of  this  rule  mining 
for  the  precious  metals  was  prohibited  under  penalty  of  the  "  anger  of 
God."  Young  declared  publicly  that  none  of  the  vast  mineral  wealth  of 
the  Territory  should  be  disclosed  until  the  Lord,  through  him  as  His  vicar, 
should  so  order.  While  great  mineral  wealth  lay  at  their  doors  and  a 
mighty  industry  might  have  been  established,  they  were  not  permitted  to 
turn  a  spadeful  of  earth  save  in  the  way  of  cultivating  the  soil.  These 
mines  of  gold  and  silver  were  to  be  kept  a  secret  from  the  outer  world  so 
as  to  prevent  an  accretion  of  Gentile  population.  The  peculiar  people 
were  sealed  within  themselves  in  their  mountain  walls,  and  the  Gentile 
was  almost  an  absolute  stranger  within  their  gates  until  the  advent  of 
Johnston's  army  in  1857.  Along  with  that  came  the  mail  and  express,  and 
the  telegraph  soon  followed.  But  not  until  General  Conner  came  with  his 
California  regiment  of  miners  and  mountain  prospectors  was  Utah's  vast 
mineral  wealth  made  known  to  the  world.  Then  followed  a  greater  influx  of 
the  Gentile  element.  But  Brigham  Young,  as  the  high  priest  of  the  church, 
still  maintained  his  absolute  sway  over  his  people,  controlling  and  direct- 
ing every  movement  of  their  lives  in  all  their  social,  religious  and  business 
relations.  The  government  of  the  Mormons  was  thus  a  pure  pseudo- 
theocracy,  controlled  by  the  will  of  one  man. 

Few  men  of  the  present  century  have  attracted  more  notice  from 
writers  of  all  creeds,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  than  Brigham  Young.  He 
was  born  of  humble  parentage  in  Vermont  in  1801.  His  education  in  the 
schools  was  limited,  according  to  his  own  statement,  to  eleven  and  a  half 
days.  He  learned  in  early  life  the  trade  of  a  painter  and  glazier.  He 
joined  the  Mormon  church  in  1832,  and  journeyed  with  them  to  Ohio, 
Missouri  and  Illinois.  By  simple  force  of  character  and  intellect  he 
reached  the  highest  pinnacle  of  power  in  the  Mormon  Church  and  State. 


366  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

He  was  not  only  a  man  of  great  force  of  character,  but  was  also  pos- 
sessed of  great  executive  ability.  To  his  clear  judgment,  firmness  of 
decision,  inflexible  will,  unceasing  industry,  power  of  government  and 
ability  to  control  men,  directness  of  purpose  and  a  self-sustaining  individ- 
uality that  overpowered  all  opposition,  the  Mormon  Church  owes  much  of 
the  prosperity  that  attended  its  lodgment  in  the  then  sterile  valleys  of 
these  mountains.  Had  it  not  been  for  him  and  his  ability  to  command, 
the  multitude  of  his  followers  would  have  fled  before  the  disasters  and 
threatened  starvation  that  assailed  them  in  the  early  days  of  their  entry 
into  the  valley. 

While  he  directed  their  spiritual  faith  and  by  pretended  "visions"  and 
"dreams"  pointed  out  "the  will  of  the  Lord,"  he  superintended  all  the 
great  labor  of  laying  out  and  building  the  city  of  Zion.  All  plans  were 
submitted  first  to  his  inspection  before  a  stake  was  driven.  As  time  went 
on  and  privations  ceased,  and  the  city  had  grown  great  and  prosperous, 
and  Mormon  immigrants  began  pouring  in  from  all  parts  of  the  world, 
personally  he  superintended  their  movements  and  established  the  various 
settlements  throughout  the  Territory.  When  the  lines  of  telegraph  were 
laid  it  was  by  Young's  contract  with  the  company,  sublet  to  others.  When 
the  roads  were  built  for  the  mail  and  express  companies  it  was  by  his 
order,  and  it  was  through  him  that  the  great  trans-continental  railroad 
entered  his  domain. 

A  late  writer,  an  apostate  from  the  Mormon  faith,  speaking  of  the  abso- 
lute power  of  Young  over  the  lives  and  property  of  his  people,  says:  "No 
one  to-day,  even  in  Utah,  can  form  any  idea  of  the  thorough  control  that 
Young  exercised  over  the  people.  Nothing  was  ever  undertaken  without 
his  permission.  He  knew  of  everything.  No  person  could  enter  into  busi- 
ness without  consulting  him,  nor  would  any  one  ever  think  of  leaving  the 
city  to  reside  in  any  other  part  of  the  country  without  having  his  approval. 
Merchants  who  went  east  or  west  to  purchase  goods  had  to  present  them- 
selves at  his  office  and  report  their  intention  of  going  to  the  States  at  such 
a  time,  if  he  had  no  contrary  orders  to  give  them.  He  claimed  that  no 
Saint  should  do  anything  without  his  knowledge  and  approval." 

He  claimed  the  power  of  performing  miracles,  foretelling  events  and 
doing  other  strUnge  and  wonderful  things.  It  is  said  that  he  rarely  made 
a  prophecy  or  prediction  that  it  did  not  come  true.  By  the  exercise  of 
most  adroit  cunning  he  usually  succeeded  in  making  his  predictions  and 
prophecies  seem  inspired.  He  was  very  intelligent  and  with  intelligent 
people  he  would  make  a  prediction  something  like  this:  "You  will  have 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  367 

a  successful  journey.  You  will  enjoy  your  trip  and  will  all  return  to  your 
homes  in  good  health."  When  asked  if  he  intended  this  as  a  prophecy  he 
would  reply:  "  You  can  call  it  whatever  you  please.  I  make  the  predic- 
tion." With  his  own  people  it  was  quite  different,  for  he  knew  they 
would  believe  whatever  he  told  them.  Near  the  close  of  a  very  severe 
winter  that  had  caused  much  suffering  he  happened  to  be  down  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  Territory.  While  there  he  noticed  a  warm  breeze  and 
the  appearance  of  birds  whose  coming  usually  preceded  the  opening  of 
spring.  Making  as  rapid  a  journey  as  possible,  he  hurried  back  to  Salt  Lake, 
went  into  the  Tabernacle  and  proclaimed  that  the  Lord  was  about  to  put 
an  end  to  the  terrible  winter.  He  told  them  there  would  be  an  early 
spring,  the  sun  would  shine,  the  snow  would  disappear;  the  face  of  the 
Lord  was  again  turned  toward  his  chosen  people,  and  that  he  would  breathe 
upon  them  the  blessings  of  life.  All  this  would  .  happen  very  soon.  Nat- 
urally this  prophecy  came  true. 

Another  story  is  told  of  him  illustrative  of  his  shrewdness.  One  of  his 
followers  had  been  unfortunate  enough  to  lose  a  leg  and  was  obliged  to  go 
about  on  a  wooden  one.  This  man  came  to  him  one  day  and  told  him  that 
he  knew  he  was  a  prophet  of  the  Lord ;  that  he  could  perform  miracles 
and  foretell  events,  and  that  he  wanted  him  to  perform  a  miracle  for  him 
by  giving  him  back  his  lost  leg.  He  stated  that  with  only  one  leg  he  could 
not  support  his  families,  and  that  he  had  a  strong  desire  to  make  himself 
useful.  After  thinking  over  the  matter  a  few  moments,  Young  assumed  a 
very  solemn  and  wise  attitude  and  expression  and  said  :  "What  you  say 
is  true.  I  am  a  prophet  of  the  Lord;  I  can  perform  miracles  and  foretell 
events  and  do  many  other  wondrous  things;  but  it  is  possible  that  you 
have  not  thought  this  thing  out  as  seriously  as  you  ought  to  have  done. 
You  know  it  is  told  us  that  what  is  lost  to  us  in  this  world  will  be  restored 
to  us  in  the  next.  If  you  continue  in  the  faith  in  the  other  world  your 
lost  leg  will  be  given  back  to  you,  and  if  I  give  you  another  now  you  will 
have  to  go  through  eternity  on  three  legs."  This  was  a  view  that  had  not 
occurred  to  the  man  before,  and  he  concluded  that  he  would  not  insist  on 
having  the  miracle  performed.  He  went  away  a  more  fervent  believer  in 
Brigham  than  ever. 

When  Brigham  Young  died,  in  1877,  John  Taylor  was  elected  to  succeed 
him,  but  his  real  power  descended  to  George  Q.  Cannon,  entitled  "First 
Counselor"  to  the  president,  and  who  was  also  a  delegate  to  Congress. 

Salt  Lake  City  at  the  present  time  covers  about  nine  thousand  acres 
of  ground,  some  of  which  is  unoccupied,  but  the  city  is  handsomely  laid 


368 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


,-*-  -v 


out.  The  streets  are  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  feet  in  width,  crossing 
at  right  angles.  They  are  thickly  shaded,  and  through  many  of  them  flow 
streams  of  pure  water  from  the  distant  mountains,  enabling  the  people  to 
irrigate  their  gardens.  Nearly  every  ward  contains  a  public  square.  The 

houses  are  mostly 
built  of  adobe,  but 
there  are  many 
handsome  buildings. 
The  Mormon  taber- 
nacle is  the  largest 
structure.  It  seats 
twelve  thousand 
persons  and  has  an 
immense  organ.  It 
is  elliptical  in  shape 
and  its  interior 
space  is  sufficient  to 
permit  the  drilling 
of  a  regiment  of  men. 
It  was  designed  by 
a  young  German 
architect,  and  its 
acoustic  properties 
are  remarkable;  unexcelled,  I  presume,  by  those  of  any  building  in  the 
world.  The  new  temple,  built  at  a  cost  of  $5,000,000,  is  in  the  same  enclosure. 
It  is  a  magnificent  building  intended  to  endure  for  ages.  Its  foundations  are 
sixteen  feet  deep  and  composed  of  hard  gray  granite.  There  is  still  another 
very  interesting  building  in  the  same  enclosure  known  as  the  Endowment 
House.  Here  for  many  years  converts  to  the  Mormon  religion  have  been 
received  into  the  bosom  of  the  church  with  mysterious  forms  and  cere- 
monies. It  is  built  of  adobe  and  contains  but  four  windows,  one  of 
which  is  blocked  up. 

On  a  high  bench  of  land  commanding  a  magnificent  view  of  the  city 
and  surrounding  country  stands  the  imposing  residence  formerly  occupied 
by  the  Prophet  with  many  of  his  wives  and  children.  At  the  west  end  of 
Brigham's  Block,  as  it  is  called,  lies  the  Tithing  House.  This  is  a  large 
building  with  numerous  cellars,  storerooms,  receiving  rooms,  payrooms 
and  offices.  Here  are  collected  and  stored  all  the  vast  tithes  of  the  prod- 
ucts of  Mormon  industry  in  each  and  every  department  of  skill  and  labor— 


MORMON  TEMPLE. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


369 


the  resultant  of  that  system  of  tithing  which  compels  each  individual 
member  of  the  church  to  devote  to  its  support  one-tenth  of  all  the  prod- 
ucts of  his  or  her  labor.  These  possessions  of  the  church  always  found  a 
ready  sale,  and  its  revenues  were  thus  easily  converted  into  cash.  Brigham 
Young  as  its  prophet  ruled  the  church  with  an  iron  hand,  and  not  even  the 
most  poverty-stricken  member  ever  failed  to  contribute  his  share  to  the 
general  fund.  In  many  cases  these  tithings  may  have  been  a  voluntary 
offering,  but  there  was  a  large  class  who  could  ill  afford  to  part  with  the 
smallest  portion  of  the  product  of  their  labor.  As  trustee  in  trust  for  the 
church  Brigham  Young  was  the  sole  beneficiary  of  this  vast  fund.  In 
other  words,  he  held  absolute  control  of  these  tithings,  and  while  doubtless 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  fund  was  used  for  ecclesiastical  objects,  such 
as  the  erection  of  the  Temple,  the  repairs  of  the  Tabernacle  and  the  assist- 
ance of  the  needy  immigrants,  yet  the  greater  portion  was  securely  retained 
by  the  chief  of  this  religious  sect,  who  is  said  to  have  been  a  very  large 
depositor  in  the  bank  of  England. 

There  are  now  three  hospitals  in  the  city,  many  Gentile  churches,  a  prison 
and  a  penitentiary.  There  are  also  several  collegiate  institutions,  more  than 
twenty  public  schools 
and  nine  periodicals. 
From  1880  to  1890  the 
population  more  than 
doubled,  being  at  the 
latter  date  more  than 
forty-four  thousand.  In 
1894  it  was  estimated  at 
seventy  thousand. 

The  Mormons  have 
sent  out  colonies  into 
Idaho,  Wyoming,  Col- 
orado, Nevada,  Arizona, 
New  Mexico,  California 

and  Mexico,  and  they  are  DISTANT  VIEW  OF  SALT  LAKE  CITY. 

increasing  very  rapidly.  Many  of  their  men  and  women  have  been  educated  at 
our  eastern  colleges.  A  number  of  the  boys  have  been  sent  to  West  Point 
and  Annapolis  and  brought  in  contact  with  other  boys,  but  have  adhered 
to  their  principles  and  theories,  still  believing  that  Joseph  Smith  was  a 
true  prophet,  and  that  Brigham  Young  was  a  great  prophet  and 
statesman. 


370 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


Universal  industry,  great  economy  and  simplicity  of  life,  with  rigid 
temperance,  were  the  main  sources  and  pillars  of  their  prosperity  and 
wealth.  They  have  been  a  very  prosperous  people.  They  lived  under  a 
system  of  perfect  discipline.  They  are  a  healthy  people  and  great  care 
has  been  taken  that  their  immigrants  should  bring  no  disease  with  them. 
They  for  a  long  time  allowed  no  intruders  in  the  country.  Anyone  who 
was  very  troublesome  disappeared  very  promptly,  and  the  Mountain 
Meadow  massacre  will  forever  be  a  blot  upon  the  history  of  the  Mormons. 
When  finally  the  railways  were  established,  giving  employment  to  a  large 
number  of  men,  the  result  was  a  rapid  increase  of  wealth.  The  number 
of  buildings  erected  grew  steadily  larger,  and  the  luxuries  usually  found  in 
wealthy  communities  were  gradually  adopted,  until  now  Salt  Lake  City  is 
one  of  the  picturesque  and  prosperous  cities  of  the  West.  They  point  to 
their  success,  the  productive  resources  of  the  territory  and  the  growth  and 
beauty  of  Salt  Lake  City  as  the  direct  evidences  that  they  were  the  chosen 
people  of  the  Lord  and  the  especial  recipients  of  His  blessing.  Yet  they  for- 
get in  this  argument  the  great  prosperity  of  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  Los 
Angeles,  San  Francisco,  Portland,  Tacoma,  Seattle,  Denver,  Omaha,  Kansas 
City  and  hundreds  of  other  American  cities  and  towns  that  have  prospered 
and  been  made  beautiful  during  the  same  period. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  371 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 
ACROSS  UTAH  AND  NEVADA. 

FROM     SALT    LAKE    TO    SAN    FRANCISCO  —  ON    THE    PACIFIC — THE    COLUMBIA  RIVER  —  MOUNT 

HOOD  —  MOUNT     SHASTA  —  A     MOUNTAIN     LAKE  —  CITY      OF      PORTLAND  —  OREGON  — 

AVASHINGTON —  CLIMATE    OF    THE    NORTHWEST —  WILLAMETTE     VALLEY — THE 

FORESTS  —  GOLD  —  CATTLE    RAISING  —  SPOKANE    AND    TACOMA — IDAHO. 

ROM  Salt  Lake  City  I  journeyed  across  the  arid  plains  of 
southern  Utah  and  western  Nevada  to  San  Francisco  by 
way  of  the  Central  Pacific,  which  was  a  continuation  of  the 
Union  Pacific,  at  that  time  the  only  trans-continental  line. 
I  remained  in  San  Francisco  several  days,  but  as  I  shall  have 
occasion  later  to  speak  more  fully  of  this  city  I  will  not  at 
this  time  attempt  to  describe  it. 

At  that  time  there  was  no  way  of  reaching  Portland,  Ore- 
gon, except  by  water,  unless  one  went  by  stage  and  the  mountainous 
route  through  the  interior,  the  latter  being  a  long,  tedious  and 
most  undesirable  journey.  I  took  passage  on  board  the  "Columbia,"  and 
passing  out  of  the  beautiful  San  Francisco  harbor  found  myself  on  the 
billows  of  the  broad  Pacific.  The  trip  along  the  coast  was  a  most  delight- 
ful one  until  we  were  overtaken  by  a  severe  storm,  when  the  water  became 
so  rough  that  even  those  who  were  most  accustomed  to  ocean  voyages 
were  obliged  to  succumb  to  seasickness.  Even  those  who  had  crossed  the 
Atlantic  many  times  without  any  unpleasant  effects  were  forced  to 
acknowledge  the  power  of  the  Pacific  when  once  roused  from  its  usually 
placid  condition. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  at  that  time  there  was  a  bar 
which,  if  the  wind  was  fresh,  was  covered  by  a  dashing  surf,  while  in  a 
storm  this  surf  appeared  like  a  great  white  wall.  There  were  several 
breaks  in  this  bar,  allowing  ships  to  enter,  but  it  was  at  all  times  a  danger- 
ous passageway,  many  steamers  having  been  wrecked  there  and  many 
valuable  lives  lost.  During  the  last  few  years  the  government  has  con- 
structed extensive  and  costly  jetties  that  have  greatly  improved  the 
navigation  at  the  entrance  of  this  great  river.  It  is  to  the  Columbia, 


372 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


which   once   bore  the  name  of  Oregon,  that  Bryant  refers  in  his  poem 
"Thanatopsis"  when  he  says: 

"  Or  lose  thyself  in  the  continuous  woods 
Where  rolls  the  Oregon,  and  hears  no  sound 
Save  its  own  dashings  —  yet  the  dead  are  there." 

After  passing  the  bar  and  entering  the  river  one  is  reminded  of  the  lower 


SCEXE   ON   THE    COLUMBIA   RlVER. 


Mississippi  by  the  dark,  sombre  trees  growing  down  to  the  water's  edge. 
This  most  majestic  river  has  been  styled  the  "  Hudson  of  the  West,"  but  it 
far  surpasses  the  Hudson  in  the  volume  of  water  it  sends  to  the  sea  and  in 
the  magnificence  of  its  scenery.  At  that  time  it  was  five  miles  wide  at 
its  mouth,  but  for  some  distance  as  one  ascended  toward  its  source  it 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


373 


rapidly  widened,  being  about  fifteen  miles  across  a  few  miles  from  where 
it  entered  the  ocean.  Together  with  its  tributaries  it  drains  a  territory  of 
395,000  square  miles,  and  penetrates  in  every  direction  through  twelve 
degrees  of  latitude  and  thirteen  degrees  of  longitude.  Although  naviga- 
tion upon  it  is  not  continuous,  it  has  seven  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles 
of  navigable  waters.  These  are  broken  by  the  cascades,  The  Dalles,  and 
other  obstructions.  The  distance  across  the  country  between  its  navigable 
waters  and  those  of  the  Missouri  is  only  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
which  gives  it  great  value  as  a  means  of  transportation.  On  the  Snake 
River,  one  of  its  branches,  steamers  can  go  as  far  as  Lewiston,  Idaho,  a 
distance  of  four  hundred  miles  east  of  Portland,  Oregon. 

The  most  interesting  part  of  the  river  is  that  known  as  the  Gorge  of 
the  Columbia.  From  above  The  Dalles  for  fifty  miles  or  more  the  river 
flows  through  the  solid  mountain  range  of  the  Cascades,  and  the  farther  it 
penetrates  these  mountains  the  more  majestic  and  awe-inspiring  grows  the 
scenery.  As  we. ascend,  fantastic  forms  of  rock  attract  the  attention  on 
every  hand,  and  from  lofty  ledges  silvery  water  from  mountain  rivulets 
descends  hundreds  of  feet  to  the  Columbia  below.  The  narrow  channel  of 
the  river,  the  high  over- 
hanging cliffs  which  con- 
fine the  wind  as  if  in  a 
funnel,  and  the  changes  of 
temperature  to  which 
mountain  localities  are 
subject,  make  this  a  stormy 
passage  at  some  seasons 
of  the  year.  As  the  rap- 
ids are  approached  the 
heights  recede  and  en- 
close a  strip  of  level  rock 
on  which  stands  a  soli- 
tary pyramid  know  as 
Castle  Rock.  Above  the 
cascades  the  scenery  is  so  grand  as  to  almost  defy  description. 

The  most  interesting  part  of  this  Gorge  of  the  Columbia  is  The 
Dalles.  Here  the  river  flows  for  fifteen  miles  through  such  a  narrow 
channel  in  the  solid  rock  that  one  accustomed  only  to  the  lower  part 
can  hardly  believe  that  this  great,  dashing,  rushing,  foaming  torrent  of 
water  is  the  Columbia.  So  narrow  and  so  deep,  indeed,  does  it  appear 


MOUNT  HOOD. 


374  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

at  this  place  that  it  has  been  aptly  likened  to  "  a  great  river  set  on 
edge." 

As  I  stood  on  the  deck  of  the  steamer  on  the  occasion  of  my  first 
ascending  the  Columbia  I  noticed  what  appeared  to  me  to  be  a  triangular 
white  cloud  above  a  deep  bank  of  darker  ones.  Someone  quietly  remarked, 
"Mount  Hood!"  "Where?"  I  inquired;  and  great  was  my  surprise  when 
he  pointed  out  my  beautiful  three-cornered  cloud  as  the  snow-capped  peak 
of  the  famous  mountain.  At  first  I  was  incredulous,  but  as  we  drew 
nearer  and  it  gradually  unfolded  its  graceful  and  symmetrical  form,  seem- 
ing to  reach  into  the  very  heavens,  I  was  forced  to  acknowledge  that  he  was 
right.  Most  mountain  ranges  stand  on  a  plateau  so  that  we  do  not  get  the 
full  effect  of  their  height.  Pike's  Peak,  for  instance,  reaches  an  altitude 
of  13,500  feet  above  the  sea  level,  but  the  country  around  it  rises  so  grad- 
ually that  the  actual  mountain  is  only  about  half  that  height  above  the 
surrounding  country.  Mount  Hood,  however,  stands  forth  in  all  its  ma- 
jestic proportions,  as  one  sees  it  from  the  sea  level  12,500  feet  from  foot  to 
summit,  and  loses  nothing  of  its  grandeur  by  reason  of  any  surrounding 
table  land.  According  to  a  tradition  of  the  Indians,  Mount  Hood  was  an 
active  volcano  at  a  comparatively  recent  period.  As  we  move  on  up  the 
Columbia  the  remainder  of  the  cluster  of  mountains  of  which  Mount 
Hood  forms  one  become  visible  against  the  sky;  Mount  Adams,  Mount 
Jefferson,  Mount  St.  Helens,  and  further  to  the  west  Mount  Rainier  or 
Tacoma,  as  the  Indians  called  the  great  mountain  towering  up  two  thousand 
feet  higher  than  even  Mount  Hood,  and  all  contributing  to  form  a  grand 
picture  that  I  have  never  seen  surpassed.  One  of  Oregon's  native  poets 
speaks  of 

"  clouded  Hood, 

St.  Helens  in  her  sea  of  wood  — 

Where  sweeps  the  Oregon,  and  where 
White  storms  are  in  the  feathered  fir, 
And  snowy  sea-birds  wheel  and  whir." 

Mount  Shasta  is  one  of  the  grandest  of  this  great  mountain  range.  It 
towers  above  the  surrounding  country,  symmetrical  in  form,  impressively 
majestic  in  proportions,  rising  14,440  feet  in  height. 

The  grandest  of  all  these  mountains  at  one  time  must  have  been  what 
is  now  known  as  Crater  Lake  in  southeast  Oregon,  ninety  miles  east  of  the 
Oregon  and  California  Railway.  It  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful  features 
of  nature  that  I  have  ever  seen.  As  you  approach  it  you  pass  over  what 
is  known  as  the  Lava  Beds,  a  large  district  of  country  that  must  have 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  375 

been  covered  by  the  lava  from  a  great  eruption.  You  gradually  ascend 
for  four  or  five  miles  what  looks  like  a  mountain  range.  As  you  approach 
and  finally  reach  the  summit  you  are  suddenly  appalled  by  finding  your- 
self upon  the  verge  of  a  precipice  looking  down  two  thousand  feet  upon  a 
body  of  water  six  miles  long  and  five  wide,  encircled  by  an  almost  per- 
pendicular wall,  with  only  one  or  two  places  where  it  is  possible  for  a  man 
to  descend  to  its  margin.  The  area  of  this  lake  is  about  thirty  square  miles 
and  its  depth  over  two  thousand  feet.  There  is  no  apparent  outlet,  but 
some  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  away  there  rolls  out  from  the  earth  a  large 
stream  of  water  as  cold  as  ice,  which  seemingly  comes  through  some  sub- 
terranean channel  from  the  great  lake  above.  Near  the  center  of  this  lake 
is  a  cone  of  what  was  once  a  volcanic  mountain.  The  indications  point 
to  a  volcano  that  must  have  been  in  action  for  a  long  time.  Part  of  the 
cone  is  covered  with  grass  and  trees.  Evidently  by  some  tremendous  con- 
vulsion the  top  of  the  mountain  was  blown  up,  its  sides  were  thrown  out- 
ward, and  the  cone  falling  stands  surrounded  by  this  great  shell  or  crater  ; 
one  of  the  most  interesting  and  awe-inspiring  natural  wonders  in  exist- 
ence. One  is  well  repaid  for  a  long  and  tedious  journey  in  beholding  it. 
Everything  indicates  that  before  the  eruption  it  must  have  been  equal  if 
not  superior  in  height  and  grandeur  to  anyone  of  the  great  mountain 
peaks  south  of  Alaska. 

On  the  Willamette  River,  twelve  miles  from  where  it  enters  the  Colum- 
bia, stands  the  city  of  Portland  in  a  situation  of  wonderful  natural  beauty. 
Although  it  is  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  the  ocean,  yet  its  posi- 
tion near  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Willamette  makes  it  virtually  a 
seaport.  A  rather  amusing  account  is  given  of  the  way  in  which  Portland 
received  its  name.  The  site  of  the  present  city  was  purchased  in  1844  by 
two  men  from  New  England,  one  being  a  native  of  the  chief  city  of  the 
state  of  Maine,  while  the  other  came  from  Boston.  In  1848  the  number  of 
people  in  their  new  settlement  had  so  increased  as  to  seem  to  warrant  the 
dignity  of  a  name,  and  naturally  each  of  the  owners  was  desirous  of  hon- 
oring his  own  city  with  a  namesake  in  the  far  West.  After  long  discussion, 
no  agreement  being  reached,  a.  penny  was  tossed  up,  and  the  man  from 
Maine  winning,  the  town  was  called  Portland.  Afterward  he  bought  out 
his  partner,  but  eventually  sold  the  whole  property  for  $5,000,  taking  his 
pay  in  leather. 

When  I  visited  the  city  in  1881  the  population  numbered  20,000,  but 
since  then  it  has  increased  rapidly,  and  after  it  was  consolidated  with  East 

Portland  and   Albina  in   1891   the  population  was  estimated  at  72,000. 
M— 22 


376  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

Portland  is  a  thriving  city  and  Oregon  a  prosperous  State  because  of  the  vast 
natural  resources  of  the  surrounding  country.  Its  waters  are  alive  with 
the  most  delicious  trout  and  salmon.  Its  forests  are  of  great  value.  Its 
agricultural  resources  are  unsurpassed.  Its  mines,  manufactures  and  com- 
merce and  the  enterprise  of  its  people  all  contribute  to  its  wealth  and 
prosperity.  Many  have  grown  rich  as  a  result  of  the  wonderful  discov- 
eries of  mines  in  California,  Idaho  and  Oregon.  These  mines  increased 
the  population  and  brought  in  many  additional  industries.  Portland  is 
now  a  handsome  city,  lighted  by  gas  and  electricity,  with  many  miles  of 
street  railway,  and  containing  numerous  massive  buildings.  Naturally  its 
commerce  is  of  great  importance. 

The  discovery  and  exploration  of  Oregon  and  Washington  is  credited 
to  the  Spanish  navigators  early  in  the  sixteenth  century.  In  1592  Juande 
Fuca,  a  Greek  pilot  sailing  in  the  service  of  the  Viceroy  of  New  Spain, 
entered  into  "a  broad  opening  between  forty-seven  and  forty-eight  degrees, 
and  sailed  eastward  for  one  hundred  miles,  when  he  saw  men  clad  in  the 
skins  of  beasts  and  emerged  into  the  Atlantic."  Considering  his  duty 
done,  he  sailed  back  through  his  strait  and  down  to  Acapulco.  Afterward 
he  was  sent  to  Spain  to  report  this  marvel  to  the  king.  Then  began  that 
series  of  voyages  in  search  of  the  "Straits  of  Aman,"  which  resulted  in 
the  telling  of  such  wonderful  stories.  These  fabled  straits  were  supposed 
to  lead  through  to  the  Atlantic,  and  their  rediscovery  and  exploration  was 
the  ambition  of  the  greatest  navigators  of  two  centuries.  The  first  who 
claimed  to  have  explored  them  was  a  Portugese,  who  was  supposed 
to  have  sailed  through  them  from  the  Labrador  coast  into  the  Indian  Ocean 
in  1500. 

The  Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca  is  a  magnificent  highway  eighty-three  miles 
in  length  and  in  places  not  more  than  twelve  miles  in  width,  the  great 
gateway  to  one  of  the  grandest  of  all  our  inland  seas,  Puget  Sound.  The 
latter,  with  its  arms  and  inlets,  covers  a  surface  of  two  thousand  square 
miles.  Its  waters  are  of  very  great  depth,  and  its  harbors  are  capable  of 
accommodating  the  largest  vessels.  For  safety  of  navigation  it  is  un- 
equaled. 

In  1792  Captain  Gray  of  Boston  in  his  ship  "Columbia"  sailed  up  the 
great  river  which  now  bears  the  name  of  his  vessel,  and  it  was  upon  his 
discoveries  and  explorations  that  the  United  States  based  her  claim  to  that 
vast  region  comprising  Washington,  Oregon  and  a  part  of  Idaho,  and 
which  contains  thirty-two  times  as  many  square  miles  as  Massachusetts, 
the  native  State  of  Captain  Gray.  The  overland  expedition  under  Lewis 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


377 


878  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

and  Clark  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  followed  the  Columbia  River 
from  its  source  to  its  mouth  in  1805.  The  wonderful  resources  of  this  part 
of  the  country  were  first  made  known  to  the  world  through  that  expedition. 

The  first  attempt  at  settlement  was  made  by  Captain  Winship  with 
fifty  men  in  1810,  but  the  hardy  pioneers  who  were  afraid  of  neither  man 
nor  beast  were  forced  to  own  themselves  vanquished  by  another  adversary 
when  the  summer  freshet  swept  down  from  the  mountains,  carrying  away 
their  gardens,  flooding  their  houses  and  forcing  them  to  abandon  their 
enterprise.  Captain  Winship  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  began  mak- 
ing plans  for  planting  another  colony  on  the  Columbia,  but  before  they 
were  completed  he  heard  of  the  establishment  of  Astoria,  named  in 
honor  of  its  founder.  John  Jacob  Astor.  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  He 
then  abandoned  his  enterprise.  The  Hudson  Bay  Company  subsequently 
obtained  this  property  and  ruled  supremely  in  the  valleys  of  the  Columbia 
and  the  Willamette  until  1848,  excepting  for  a  few  years  when  its  sway 
was  disputed  by  the  Northwest  Fur  Company.  In  1824  the  first  fruit  trees 
were  planted  in  Oregon,  and  seven  years  later  some  servants  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  abandoned  hunting  and  trapping  and  attempted  wheat- 
growing  in  the  Willamette  Valley. 

The  sad  story  of  the  Nez  Perce  Indians  who  took  the  long  journey  from 
the  far  West  to  St.  Louis  in  search  of  "the  Book"  is  well  known  in  that 
country.  In  the  end  their  journey  did  not  prove  a  fruitless  one,  for  their 
pathetic  story  became  known,  and  when  in  1835  two  exploring  delegates 
of  the  American  board  of  missions  met  the  Nez  Perces  on  Green  River, 
Dr.  Whitman,  one  of  these  agents,  concluded  that  he  had  discovered  his  life 
work.  When  he  returned  to  the  east  to  make  his  report  and  arrange  his 
plans  he  took  with  him  two  of  the  Nez  Perce  boys  as  specimens  of  the 
people  among  whom  he  wished  to  be  allowed  to  labor.  As  soon  as  his 
plans  were  completed  he  returned  to  the  West  and  founded  a  small  colony 
in  Walla  Walla  Valley.  Afterward  it  was  largely  due  to  his  patriotic 
efforts  and  sacrifices  that  the  whole  of  this  vast  region  did  not  become  a 
part  of  the  British  possessions,  as  will  be  shown  in  a  future  chapter. 

In  1841  Captain  Wilkes  of  the  United  States  Navy,  at  the  head  of  an 
expedition,  surveyed  the  coasts,  bays,  harbors  and  rivers  of  this  territory, 
and  two  years  later  Lieutenant  Fremont  of  the  army  arrived  at  Vancouver 
on  the  Columbia  River,  thus  connecting  his  reconnoissance  with  the  eastern 
terminus  of  Captain  Wilkes's  explorations. 

In  the  course  of  time  this  territory  became  the  occasion  of  numerous 
disputes  between  the  United  States  and  the  British  government.  These 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  379 

were  not  finally  settled  until  1872,  when  the  German  Emperor  acted  as 
arbitrator  between  the  two  governments.  During  the  years  when  the  owner- 
ship of  the  territory  was  unsettled  it  was  held  by  the  people  of  both  countries; 
but  no  form  of  civil  government  existed  until  1848,  when  Oregon  Territory 
was  organized  by  Congress.  The  country  was  really  settled  by  the  Ameri- 
cans, for  while  the  British  hunter  and  trapper  came  in  search  of  game 
only,  the  American  farmer  brought  his  wife  and  family  and  remained  in 
the  country  permanently. 

A  "donation  law"  was  passed  by  Congress  in  1850,  which  enabled 
early  settlers  to  secure  titles  to  their  holdings.  In  1859  Oregon  was 
admitted  as  a  State.  For  several  years  thereafter  her  progress  was  slow, 
but  the  coming  of  the  railroads  overcame  the  most  serious  obsta- 
cles to  her  advancement  and  assisted  her  to  the  present  substantial 
prosperity. 

The  history  of  Washington  was  closely  connected  with  that  of  Oregon 
until  1853,  when  Congress  endowed  the  former  with  a  separate  territorial 
government.  It  was  admitted  as  a  State  in  1889. 

For  many  years  there  was  a  very  mistaken  opinion  regarding  the  cli- 
mate of  the  northern  Pacific  Coast,  it  being  supposed  that  the  winters  were 
very  cold  and  severe,  while  in  reality  the  reverse  is  true.  The  mean  tem- 
perature in  January  ranges  from  ten  to  twenty  degrees  higher  on  the  Pacif- 
ic than  it  does  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountain  chain  which  divides  the 
continent.  The  difference  in  the  temperature  is  caused  by  the  Euro  Siwo 
or  Japan  Current,  which  modifies  the  climate  of  the  North  Pacific  Coast 
just  as  the  Gulf  Stream  tempers  the  climate  of  the  British  Isles.  West  of 
the  Cascade  Mountains  in  Washington  and  Oregon  the  winters  consist  of 
the  long  rainy  season,  but  the  weather  is  not  cold.  Snow  sometimes  falls, 
but  rarely  in  great,  quantities.  Thunder  storms  seldom  if  ever  occur,  and 
hurricanes  and  cyclones  are  almost  unknown.  The  rainfall  at  Portland, 
Oregon,  averages  fifty-one  inches. 

In  western  Oregon  and  Washington  whenever  the  temperature  falls  a 
few  degrees  below  the  freezing  point  the  weather  is  generally  bright  and 
pleasant,  with  heavy  frosts  at  night.  When  frosts  occur  during  spring  or 
early  summer,  which  in  other  lands  would  be  sufficiently  severe  to  injure 
fruit  and  the  growing  crops,  they  are  commonly  followed  here  by  heavy 
fogs  which  roll  in  from  the  ocean  and  spread  themselves  throughout  the 
country.  These  fogs  are  so  very  dense  that  their  humidity  dissolves  the 
frost  before  the  heat  of  the  sun  can  strike  the  vegetation  and  cause  the 
subsequent  injury. 


380  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

In  eastern  Oregon  and  Washington  the  temperature  is  much  lower  in 
winter  and  higher  in  summer  than  it  is  west  of  the  mountains. 
Although  the  days  are  often  very  hot  in  the  summer,  the  nights  are  always 
cool  and  refreshing.  As  there  are  four  or  five  months  of  what  is  known  as 
the  dry  season,  between  May  and  October,  it  gives  the  farmers  an  oppor- 
tunity to  harvest  their  crops  at  leisure. 

Wheat  forms  the  staple  agricultural  product  of  both  Washington  and 
Oregon.  In  Washington  much  of  the  land  devoted  to  the  raising  of  wheat 
is  from  1,500  to  3,000  feet  above  the  sea  level.  Hundreds  of  miles  of 
irrigating  canals  are  in  operation,  and  the  annual  product  averages 
15,000,000  bushels.  Oats  also  yields  heavily  and  fruits  and  vegetables 
are  extensively  raised  in  both  States.  In  Oregon  the  Willamette  Valley 
is  the  chief  region  of  agricultural  wealth,  and  is  famed  alike  for  its  beauty 
and  fertility. 

This  charming  valley,  which  has  sometimes  been  called  the  "  Eden  of 
Oregon,"  is  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  in  length,  and  its  breadth 
for  the  entire  distance  averages  over  forty  miles.  Its  area  is  five  times 
that  of  Delaware,  or  nearly  equal  to  the  entire  State  of  Maryland.  The 
valley  presents  most  delightful  alternations  of  scenery,  from  lofty  moun- 
tains to  rich  meadows,  wooded  hills  and  pastoral  dales.  It  is  the  most 
populous  portion  of  the  State  and  embraces  within  its  limits  nearly  all  the 
important  towns  and  cities.  At  the  time  that  I  was  in  that  part  of  the 
country  the  valley  was  being  rapidly  settled,  and  in  the  loneliest  parts 
might  be  noticed  new  houses;  so  new  in  fact,  that  the  sawdust  sometimes 
still  clung  to  their  boards.  The  prairies  of  the  Willamette  Valley  are  not 
an  uninterrupted  level  like  those  of  Illinois.  Ranges  of  hills  and  isolated 
buttes  occur  frequently  enough  to  save  the  landscape  from  monotony. 

It  would  hardly  be  possible  to  exaggerate  the  value  of  the  forests 
throughout  Washington  and  Oregon,  especially  in  the  former  State.  The 
principal  growths  are  fir,  pine,  spruce,  cedar,  larch  and  hemlock,  though 
other  varieties  are  found  in  considerable  quantities.  Trees  attain  an 
unusual  development,  both  in  regard  to  height  and  symmetry  of  form. 
They  are  so  tall  and  straight  and  gently  tapering  that  they  are  peculiarly 
adapted  for  making  the  masts  and  spars  of  ships,  and  for  this  purpose 
large  quantities  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length  are  shipped  from  the 
forests  of  Douglas  County  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Gold  was  first  discovered  in  Jackson  County  in  Oregon  in  1852,  and 
mining  is  still  carried  on  there  for  the  same  precious  metal,  though  it  has 
since  been  discovered  at  many  other  places.  In  Washington  gold  is  found 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  381 

on  the  Yakima  River  and  in  various  other  localities.  Rich  deposits  of  sil- 
ver and  iron,  as  well  as  many  other  minerals,  abound  in  both  States. 
Washington  has  been  called  the  Pennsylvania  of  the  Pacific  on  account  of 
its  vast  coal  region  lying  in  or  near  the  Puget  Sound  Basin. 

Stock-raising  is  also  a  great  industry,  and  the  country  is  well  adapted 
for  it  in  both  of  these  States.  The  waters  in  this  region  abound  with  fish, 
the  most  important  of  which  is  the  salmon.  Such  large  quantities  of  these 
are  canned  every  year  as  to  make  it  one  of  the  most  important  industries. 
An  extensive  commerce  is  carried  on,  especially  with  China  and  Japan. 
Port  Townsend  is  the  port  of  entry  in  Washington,  and  the  number  of 
American  vessels  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade  here  is  exceeded  at  two 
ports  only  in  the  United  States  —  New  York  and  San  Francisco. 

Washington,  with  her  rich  and  varied  resources,  undoubtedly  has  a 
great  future  before  her.  In  the  terse  language  of  the  West,  her  people 
state  that  if  you  should  build  a  Chinese  wall  around  Washington  her 
inhabitants  could  supply  themselves  with  everything  they  absolutely 
required  without  going  outside,  and  the  statement  is  practically  true.  In 
1853  the  population  was  less  than  4,000  for  the  entire  territory;  in  1890  it  had 
increased  to  349,000,  and  in  1894  it  was  estimated  at  410,000.  Oregon  in 
1842  had  only  two  hundred  and  forty  white  people  within  her  borders, 
while  in  1890  the  census  gave  the  number  of  inhabitants  at  nearly  314,000. 

The  chief  city  of  western  Washington  is  Seattle,  with  a  population  of 
over  40,000.  When  we  consider  that  its  progress  has  been  made  against 
railroad  opposition  instead  of  by  the  aid  of  this  powerful  influence,  its 
size  and  business  importance  seem  almost  incredible,  and  its  public- 
spirited  men  can  hardly  lay  claim  to  too  much  credit.  From  the  harbor  it 
makes  an  impressive  appearance  because  it  is  built  in  a  manner  peculiar 
to  itself,  though  the  result  is  that  its  streets  are  exceedingly  steep.  After 
some  of  the  best  engineers  and  most  prominent  officers  of  the  army  had 
for  years  recommended  without  success  the  construction  by  the  govern- 
ment of  a  short  canal  to  unite  the  waters  of  Puget  Sound  with  the  fresh 
water  basin  of  Lake  Washington,  the  citizens  of  Seattle,  with  commend- 
able enterprise  and  public  spirit,  have  undertaken  the  great  work  them- 
selves. The  canal  will  be  completed  within  a  few  years,  and  when  finished 
will  have  cost  about  $7,000,000. 

Tacoma,  an  hour  and  a  half  distant  from  Seattle  by  water,  is  also  a 
substantial  city,  and  especially  remarkable  for  the  beautiful  homes  that 
adorn  its  streets.  It  is  the  center  of  a  large  circle  of  cultivated  people 
and,  though  it  is  not  as  large  as  Seattle,  it  has  exhibited  great  enterprise. 


382 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


Spokane  is  the  principal  city  of  eastern  Washington.  It  is  a  very  active 
place,  with  electric  cars,  electric  lights,  cable  cars,  elevators,  etc.,  though 
it  is  not  at  all  peculiar  in  these  respects,  as  nearly  all  progressive  western 
towns  have  the  same,  and  their  hotels  rank  with  the  finest  in  the  leading 
cities  of  the  world.  The  Spokane  River  and  Falls  are  of  great  beauty  and 
utility. 

Idaho  is  essentially  different  from  the  States  we  have  been  considering 
in  many  important  particulars.     It  has  formed  successively  a  part  of  Ore- 


SHOSHONE  FALLS. 

gon,  Washington,  Utah  and  Nebraska.  Although  explored  by  Lewis  and 
Clark  on  their  famous  expedition,  but  little  was  known  of  it  until  1852. 
when  gold  was  discovered  near  the  northern  boundary.  On  July  3,  1890, 
Idaho  entered  the  Union,  being  the  forty-third  State  in  the  order  of  admis- 
sion. The  name  Idaho  is  said  to  mean  "  Light  of  the  Mountains." 

Its  mountain  system  is  peculiar.     The  Salmon  River  range  in  the  cen- 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  383 

tral  part  of  the  State  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  in  America  and  of 
itself  covers  an  area  as  large  as  New  Jersey.  Streams  radiate  to  nearly 
every  point  from  their  sources  in  this  great  central  range,  yet  they  all  flow 
into  the  Snake  River  and  thence  into  the  Columbia.  The  crests  and  sum- 
mits of  many  of  these  mountains  rise  from  10,000  to  13,000  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  Idaho  is  the  vast  lava  bed 
which  covers  a  large  area  of  that  part  of  the  State  on  the  east  and  south 
along  the  course  of  the  Snake  River.  This  is  the  principal  river,  and 
drains  all  the  State  except  the  most  northern  and  the  southeastern  por- 
tions. The  Shoshone  Falls  of  this  river  are  second  only  to  those  of 
Niagara,  the  Yellowstone  and  the  Yosemite.  The  stream  here  is  six  hun- 
dred feet  wide,  and  above  the  falls  it  is  divided  by  five  islands  into  six 
parts.  Then,  after  flowing  four  hundred  yards  further,  it  passes  in  one 
unbroken  sheet  over  a  precipice,  making  a  descent  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  feet. 

Forests  abound  in  the  north.  There  is  but  little  rainfall  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  State,  but  toward  the  center  there  is  a  heavy  snowfall  for 
several  months  in  the  year.  The  climate  is  dependent  upon  the  elevation, 
and  varies  from  a  dry  area  of  almost  torrid  heat  along  the  Snake  River 
and  the  foot-hills  to  the  cold  of  the  mountain  peaks  where  the  snow  lies 
frequently  through  the  summer,  and  ice  forms  nearly  every  night.  Even  in 
winter  the  ice  and  snow  are  often  rapidly  melted  by  the  Chinook  winds 
blowing  from  the  Pacific  Coast. 

The  country  is  not  well  adapted  to  agriculture,  yet  on  both  sides  of  the 
Snake  River  irrigation  has  produced  the  same  results  that  it  has  in  Utah. 
In  the  aggregate  the  grazing  lands  form  a  considerable  tract,  but  these 
lands  are  widely  scattered.  There  are  many  rich  mines  in  the  State,  but 
as  yet  they  have  not  been  fully  developed.  The  Mormon  Church  is  strong 
in  Idaho,  but  as  polygamy  is  prohibited  by  law,  about  3,000  Mormons 
are  practically  disfranchised.  The  largest  town  is  Boise  City,  which  in 
1890  contained  about  3,300  people. 


384 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XXX. 
A  CHAPTER  OUT  OF  EARLY  HISTORY. 

IDEAS     OF     AMERICAN      STATESMEN      FIFTY     YEARS    AGO  —  DISCOVERY    OF    THE    COLUMBIA  — 
CLAIMS    OF    THE     UNITED    STATES    TO    THE    NORTHWEST     TERRITORY  —  THE    EARLY 
MISSIONS  —  DR.  WHITMAN  AND  MR.  SPALDING —  THE  FIRST  OVERLAND  JOURNEY  — 
THE     OLD     WAGON  —  GENERAL    LOVEJOY  —  RESULT    IN    WASHINGTON 
OF     THE     TEACHING     OF    THE     HUDSON    BAY    COMPANY  —  THE 
PENDING  TREATY — THE  RETURN  JOURNEY   OF   WHITMAN 
AND  LOVEJOY  —  A  CHANGE  OF  VIEW  IN  WASHING- 
TON—  THE  LESSON  OF  THE  OLD  WAGON  — 
WORK  AND  DEATH  OF  DR.  WHITMAN. 

N  our  day,  when  the  great  northwestern  part  of  our  country  with 
its  vast  resources  is  so  well  known  and  so  thoroughly  appre- 
ciated, it  seems  almost  incredible  that  only  fifty  years  ago  so 
little  was  known  of  that  region  that  a  man  like  Daniel  Webster 
was  willing  to  believe  it  a  "sandy  desert."  That  this  great 
country  which  now  comprises  the  States  of  Washington,  Oregon 
and  Idaho  is  not  to-day  part  of  the  British  possessions  is 
largely  due  to  the  unselfish  exertions  of  Dr.  Marcus  Whitman, 
a  missionary  sent  out  to  that  part  of  the  United  States  by  the 
American  Board  of  Missions  in  1836. 

That  this  country,  which  was  then  known  as  Oregon,  belonged  right- 
fully to  the  United  States  there  can  be  no  shadow  of  doubt.  Captain 
Robert  Gray  of  Boston  discovered  the  Columbia  River  in  1792  and  gave 
the  name  of  his  good  ship  to  that  beautiful  and  majestic  Hudson  of  the 
West.  The  English  navigator,  Vancouver,  was  informed  of  its  existence 
by  Captain  Gray  before  he  ever  entered  its  waters.  The  second  claim  of 
the  United  States  was  based  on  the  Louisiana  purchase.  This  territory 
had  been  ceded  by  France  to  Spain  in  1762,  re-ceded  to  France  in  1800,  and 
sold  by  the  latter  country  to  the  United  States  in  1803  "with  all  its  rights 
and  appurtenances  as  fully  and  in  the  same  manner  as  they  were  acquired 
by  the  French  republic."  Although  there  was  some  doubt  whether  France 
could  rightfully  claim  the  territory  along  the  Pacific  Coast  as  far  north  as 
the  parallel  of  forty-nine  degrees,  it  was  Spain  who  disputed  her  claim, 
and  not  England. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


385 


A  third  claim  of  the  United  States  was  based  on  the  explorations  of 
Lewis  and  Clark,  who  were  sent  out  by  Jefferson  in  1803,  and  who  followed 
the  Columbia  from  its  headwaters  to  its  mouth.  A  fourth  claim  was 
based  on  the  actual  settlement  made  at  Astoria  in  1811.  A  fifth  was  the 
treaty  of  the  United  States  with  Spain  in  1818,  when  Spain  relinquished 
any  and  all  claims  to  the  territory  in  dispute  to  the  United  States.  The 
sixth  and  last  claim  was  the  treaty  with 
Mexico  in  1828,  by  which  the  United  States 
acquired  all  interests  in  the  territory  in  ques- 
tion that  had  been  claimed  by  Mexico. 

When  the  appeal  of  the  Flat  Head  Indians 
of  the  Northwest  was  made  known  to  the  peo- 
ple in  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States,  it 
touched  a  responsive    chord   and  stirred   the 
church  to  unusual  activity.      The  Methodists 
sent  out  the  Lees  in  1834,  and  the 
American   Board  tried  to  get  the 
right  men  to  send  with  them,  but 
were  unable  to  do  so  until   1835, 
when    they    sent  out   Dr.  Marcus 
Whitman    and    the   Rev.    Samuel 
Parker   upon  a  trip  of  discovery. 
On     reaching    Green     River,     Dr. 
Whitman    and    Mr.    Parker    met 
large  bodies  of   Indians,  who  en- 
deavored to  induce  them  to  remain, 
and  it  was  decided  that  Dr.  Whit- 
man should  return  to  the  East,  and, 
after  making  the  necessary  arrangements,  snould  return  the   following 
year. 

After  hearing  Dr.  Whitman's  report  the  American  Board  at  once  decided 
to  occupy  the  field.  He  had  for  a  long  time  been  engaged  to  marry  Miss 
Narcissa  Prentice  of  Prattsburgh,  New  York,  who  was  as  enthusiastic  with 
respect  to  work  among  the  Indians  as  Dr.  Whitman  himself.  The  Board 
did  not  consider  it  expedient  to  send  the  young  couple  alone,  so  the  day  of 
the  wedding  was  deferred  while  search  was  being  made  for  suitable  per- 
sons to  accompany  them.  The  Rev.  H.  H.  Spalding  and  his  wife,  who  had 
been  recently  married,  were  at  length  induced  to  go.  Then,  all  other 
necessary  arrangements  having  been  made,  Dr.  Whitman  and  Miss  Prentice 


DR.  MARCUS  WHITMAN. 


386 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


were  married,  and  the  four  young  people  started  on  one  of  the  most 
formidable  wedding  journeys  ever  undertaken.  The  company  was  com- 
posed of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Whitman,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spalding,  H.  H.  Gray,  two 
teamsters  and  two  Indian  boys  who  had  accompanied  Dr.  Whitman  on  his 
return  from  the  West. 

The  American  Fur  Company  was  sending  out  a  large  expedition  to  Ore- 
gon which   Dr.   Whitman    expected  to  join  at 
Council  Bluffs,  and  great  was  the  consternation 
of  himself  and  his  companions  on  arriving  at 
that  place  to  find  the  company  already  gone,  its 
members  not  caring  to  wait,  as  they  feared  ladies 
might  prove  a  very  troublesome  burden  on  such 
a  rough  journey.    Nothing  daunted,  Dr.  Whitman 
decided  to  follow  them  as  rapidly 
as  possible,   and  here  the  Indian 
boys  proved  to  be  of  great  service. 
The  little  party  traveled  for  nearly 
a  month  before  they  overtook  the 
fur     company's     caravan;      Their 
route  was  now  in  an  almost  un- 
known part  of  the  country,  and  led 
them  across  rivers  and  over  deserts 
and  mountains.     While  they  were 
passing  through  the  buffalo  coun- 
try,  food  was  easy  to  obtain,  but 
afterward    game   was  much  more 
difficult  to  secure,  and  at  times  they 
were  reduced  to  a    diet  of  dried  buffalo  meat  and  tea. 

In  spite  of  all  drawbacks  and  efforts  to  persuade  him  to  leave  it  behind. 
Dr.  Whitman  persisted  in  hauling  along  the  wagon  which  afterward  had 
so  much  influence  on  the  destiny  of  that  country.  It  was  always  getting 
stuck  in  the  creeks  and  rivers  and  being  upset  on  the  steep  mountain  sides, 
and  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  walk  over  all  the  most  difficult  portions 
of  the  way.  Even  his  wife  did  not  sympathize  with  him  in  this  effort,  but 
with  undaunted  courage  he  persisted,  realizing  the  importance  of  getting 
it  through. 

On  reaching  the  Green  River  they  were  met  by  the  Cayuse  and  Nez 
Perce  Indians,  who  were  awaiting  the  return  of  Dr.  Whitman  and  the  boys 
who  had  left  them  the  year  before.  The  Indians  were  delighted  to  see 


MBS.  NARCISBA  PRENTICE  WHITMAN. 


GENEltAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


387 


them  and  paid  them  the  most  delicate  attentions.  After  the  little  mission- 
ary band  reached  Walla  Walla,  before  deciding  on  a  permanent  location. 
they  decided  to  consult  the  ruling  powers  of  Oregon,  the  officials  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  at  Vancouver.  Dr.  McLoughlin,  chief  factor  of  this 
company,  received  them  cordially  and  decided  that  Dr.  Whitman  had  better 
begin  his  work  in  the  Walla  Walla  country  three  hundred  miles  away,  and 
Mr.  Spalding  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  further  on. 

Dr.  Whitman  built  his  little   house   on   a   peninsula    formed  by  the 
branches  of  the  Walla  River,   in  what  is  now 
one  of  the  most  fertile  and  beautiful  portions 
of    Washington.     The  Indians  called  it 
Wai-i-lat-pui,    meaning    "the 
place  of  rye  grass."    One  of  the 
first   efforts  of  Dr.   Whitman 
was    to    induce    his    Indians 
to  raise  their  own  grain,  fruits 
and  vegetables. 

All  the  missionaries  in  that 
part  of  the  country  believed 
that  undertheexistingtreaty 
between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain,  the  nation  ^ 
which   first  settled  and  or- 
ganized the  territory  would 
hold    it.      The    glowing    accounts 
given  of  the  soil,  climate,  great  for- 
osts    and    indications   of    mineral 


wealth  had  induced  a  small  number 
of  Americans  to  immigrate,  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  each  mission  was  quite  a  popula- 
tion of  farmers  and  traders.  In  1840-41 
many  of  them  met  and  discussed  the  subject 
of  organizing  a  government  under  the  American  flag,  but  were  unable  to  do 
so,  being  outnumbered  by  the  English.  In  the  fall  of  1842  Elijah  White,  an 
Indian  agent  for  the  government,  brought  a  party  of  Americans,  men,  women 
and  children,  numbering  one  hundred  and  twenty,  to  Waiilatpui.  Among 
this  party  was  a  most  intelligent  gentleman,  General  Amos  L.  Lovejoy, 
who  was  thoroughly  informed  in  national  affairs,  and  told  Dr.  Whitman  of 
the  treaty  then  pending  between  England  and  the  United  States  regarding 


THE  OLD  WAGON. 


388 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


the  boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and  the  British  possessions  iu 
North  America. 

The  statesmen  of  this  period  were  ignorant  on  the  question  of  the 
great  value  of  the  territory  in  dispute,  and  the  ''interminable  desert," 
"arid  plains"  and  "impassable  mountains"  were  constantly  quoted  as 
impediments  in  the  way  to  a  country, most  of  which  was  "as  irreclaimable 
and  barren  a  waste  as  the  Desert  of  Sahara."  All  this  ignorance  was  the 


WHITMAN  PLEADING  FOR  OREGON  BEFORE  DANIEL  WEBSTER  AND  PRESIDENT  TAYLOR. 

result  of  the  teachings  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  which,  wishing  to 
secure  a  monopoly  of  the  country,  constantly  decried  it  and  endeavored  to 
persuade  all  outsiders  of  its  worthlessness.  In  this  they  succeeded  so  well 
that,  although  our  statesmen  were  thoroughly  persuaded  of  the  justice  of 
the  claims  of  the  United  States,  they  regarded  the  country  as  being  of  so 
little  value  that  they  were  very  little  concerned  when,  in  the  Ashburton 
Treaty  of  1843,  Oregon  was  again  ignored,  the  mind  of  Daniel  Webster, 
the  then  Secretary  of  State,  having  been  concentrated  during  the  negotia- 
tions on  the  question  of  a  few  thousand  acres,  more  or  less,  in  Maine. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  389 

When  General  Lovejoy  left  for  Oregon  this  treaty  was  still  under  con- 
sideration, and  when  through  him  Dr.  Whitman  learned  of  the  state  of 
affairs  at  Washington,  he  determined  to  go  there  and  explain  to  the  author- 
ities the  true  value  of  the  country  they  were  about  to  allow  to  slip  from 
their  grasp.  He  consulted  with  his  brother  missionaries  and  received 
their  hearty  concurrence,  but  they  were  not  willing  to  allow  him  to  under- 
take such  a  journey  alone.  When  a  volunteer  was  called  for,  General  Love- 
joy,  who  had  just  finished  his  tedious  five  months'  journey  to  Oregon, 
promptly  offered  to  retrace  his  way  to  assist  Dr.  Whitman  in  his  great 
endeavor. 

Before  leaving,  Dr.  Whitman  made  a  visit  to  Fort  Walla  Walla  to  pro- 
cure the  necessaries  for  his  journey,  and  while  there  an  express  messenger 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  arrived  from  Fort  Colville,  three  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  up  the  Columbia,  with  the  announcement  that  a  colony  of 
one  hundred  and  forty  Englishmen  and  Canadians  were  on  their  way. 
Great  was  the  joy  among  the  Englishmen  present,  and  a  young  priest 
expressed  the  sentiments  of  most  of  the  people  present  when  he  threw  his 
cap  into  the  air  and  shouted,  "  Hurrah  for  Oregon  —  America  is  too  late; 
we  have  got  the  country!"  Naturally  Dr.  Whitman  did  not  share  in  the 
general  pleasure,  but  carefully  avoided  all  mention  of  his  purpose  in  going 
to  Washington,  and  on  his  return  to  his  home  hastened  his  preparations 
for  departure.  On  the  third  day  of  October,  1842,  he  bade  his  young  wife 
a  reluctant  good-bye,  and  with  General  Lovejoy  and  one  guide  set  out  on 
a  journey  whose  success  or  failure  meant  so  much  to  our  whole  country. 

He  reached  Fort  Hall,  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Idaho,  at  the  end  of 
eleven  days,  and  thus  far  the  journey  was  comparatively  easy,  as  each 
member  of  the  party  was  familiar  with  the  road.  Captain  Grant,  the  com- 
manding officer  at  Fort  Hall,  had  for  years  done  all  in  his  power  to  dis- 
courage immigration  to  that  part  of  the  country,  and,  with  the  single 
exception  of  Dr.  Whitman,  he  had  been  uniformly  successful  in  persuading 
settlers  that  they  would  be  unable  to  move  their  wagons,  and  consequently 
the  greater  part  of  their  goods,  across  the  mountains,  thus  compelling  them 
to  go  on  horseback  or  on  foot  for  the  remainder  of  the  way.  He  now 
suspected  that  the  missionary  had  some  important  business  on  hand,  and 
tried  in  every  possible  way  to  thwart  it.  He  dwelt  on  the  hopelessness  of 
crossing  the  Rocky  Mountains,  already  covered  with  snow  in  some  places 
twenty  feet  deep,  and  on  the  almost  certain  death  of  anyone  who  might 
encounter  the  Pawnee  or  Sioux  Indians  who  were  then  at  war  with  each 
other. 


390  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

Dr.  Whitman  fully  realized  the  difficulties  and  dangers  attending  his 
enterprise,  but  he  refused  to  return  and  Captain  Grant  had  no  authority 
to  stop  him.  as  he  carried  with  him  a  permit  signed  "  Lewis  Cass,  Secretary 
of  War."  Instead  of  turning  back  he  set  out  in  a  southeasterly  direction 
over  a  route  to  the  States,  untrodden,  as  far  as  he  knew,  by  the  foot  of  a 
white  man.  The  course  he  pursued  took  him  past  the  vicinity  of  the 
present  Salt  Lake  City,  Fort  Uintah  in  the  northeastern  part  of  Utah,  Fort 
Uncompahgre  in  the  western  part  of  Colorado,  and  from  there  down  into 
New  Mexico  to  Santa  Fe,  thence  back  into  Colorado  to  Bent's  Fort,  from 
which  point  his  way  lay  in  a  generally  easterly  direction  through  the 
States  of  Kansas  and  Missouri  to  St.  Louis. 

The  weather  the  little  party  encountered  was  terribly  severe,  and  they 
were  obliged  to  change  guides  several  times.  On  their  way  to  Taos.  New 
Mexico,  they  met  with  a  terrible  snowstorm  which  compelled  them  to  seek 
shelter  in  a  defile  of  the  mountains,  where  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  get 
away  they  were  detained  for  ten  days.  At  the  end  of  that  time  they  con- 
trived to  make  a  fresh  start,  but  soon  encountered  a  snowstorm  so  severe 
that  it  almost  blinded  them  and  made  the  mules  unmanageable.  At  last 
the  guide  stopped  and  acknowledged  that  he  could  show  them  the  way  no 
further,  and  on  attempting  to  retrace  their  steps,  they  found  that  all  traces 
had  been  completely  covered  by  the  fast  falling  snow.  They  knew 
not  which  way  to  turn,  and  after  coming  so  far,  it  seemed  that  they  must 
perish  in  the  snow  with  their  errand  still  unaccomplished. 

In  this  extremity  General  Lovejoy  tells  us  that  "Dr.  Whitman  dis- 
mounted, and,  upon  his  knees  in  the  snow,  commended  himself,  his  distant 
wife,  his  missionary  companions  and  work,  and  his  Oregon,  to  the  Infinite 
One  for  guidance  and  protection. 

"  The  lead  mule,  left  to  himself  by  the  guide,  turning  his  long  ears  this 
way  and  that,  finally  started,  plunging  through  the  snowdrifts,  his  Mexican 
guide  and  all  the  party  following  instead  of  guiding,  the  old  guide  remark- 
ing: 'This  mule  will  find  the  camp  if  he  can  live  long  enough  to  reach  it.' 
And  he  did." 

On  returning  to  the  camp  the  guide  refused  to  go  any  further  with 
them,  which  was  a  terrible  blow  to  Dr.  Whitman  as  they  had  already  lost 
much  valuable  time.  He  told  General  Lovejoy  to  remain  in  the  camp  and 
rest  while  he  returned  to  Fort  Uncompahgre  for  another  guide,  whom  he 
brought  back  at  the  end  of  a  week.  The  Grand  River  at  the  point  they 
encountered  it,  was  about  six  hundred  feet  wide  ;  for  two  hundred  feet  on 
either  shore  the  water  was  frozen  solid,  and  a  terrible  torrent  two  hundred 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  391 

feet  wide  rushed  between.  The  guide  declared  that  it  was  impossible  to 
cross,  but  Dr.  Whitman  plunged  boldly  in,  and  his  horse  with  great  diffi- 
culty succeeded  in  swimming  to  the  other  shore,  and  then  the  rest  followed. 
Owing  to  the  many  delays,  they  had  consumed  all  their  provisions,  and 
were  obliged  to  subsist  upon  a  dog  and  a  mule  they  had  killed,  but  on  reach- 
ing Santa  Fe  they  were  again  abundantly  supplied  with  provisions. 

When  near  Bent's  Fort,  Colorado,  Dr.  Whitman  pushed  ahead  to  try  to 
meet  a  party  of  men  who  he  had  heard  were  on  their  way  to  St.  Louis. 
But  he  lost  his  way,  and  when  he  finally  reached  the  fort,  some  time  after 
his  companions  arrived  there,  he  was  exhausted  and  almost  discouraged. 
Still,  he  delayed  only  a  single  night,  and  hurried  on  to  overtake  the  party 
which  had  already  started,  while  General  Lovejoy  remained  at  the  fort 
until  he  had  recovered  from  his  exertions. 

The  trail  to  St.  Louis  was  a  most  dangerous  one,  being  infested  with 
wild  beasts  and  savages,  but  he  reached  that  town  in  safety  and  learned 
that  the  Ashburton  treaty  had  been  signed  August  9,  1842,  nearly  two 
months  before  he  left  Oregon.  But  this  treaty  only  related  to  the  Maine 
boundary,  so  there  was  still  hope  that  he  would  be  in  time  to  save  Oregon 
for  the  Union. 

When  he  reached  the  capital  he  was  worn  and  exhausted,  and  his 
hands,  feet  and  ears  had  all  been  frozen;  but  he  cared  little  for  this  if  the 
President  and  Secretary  of  State  would  only  grant  him  an  interview  to 
enable  him  to  explain  to  them  the  great  mistake  they  would  make  if 
they  permitted  Oregon  to  slip  from  their  grasp,  and  this  he  had  no  diffi- 
culty whatever  in  securing. 

Long  before  Dr.  Whitman  reached  Washington  there  was  an  under- 
standing that  the  settlement  of  the  boundary  question  between  Oregon 
and  the  British  possessions  had  been  delayed  because  there  were  negotia- 
tions pending  looking  <  o  the  exchange  of  the  American  interests  in  Oregon 
for  the  fisheries  of  Newfoundland.  When  he  heard  of  this,  Dr.  Whitman 
assured  Mr.  Webster  that  it  would  be  better  to  barter  all  New  England  for 
Newfoundland  rather  than  part  with  Oregon.  He  told  President  Tyler 
and  Mr.  Webster  of  the  fertile  soil,  of  the  healthful  climate,  of  the  great 
forests,  of  the  indications  of  mineral  wealth,  only  to  be  met  with  the  sup- 
posed unanswerable  objection  that  all  this  could  not  matter  since  Oregon 
was  shut  off  by  impassable  mountains,  and  a  great  desert  which  made  a 
wagon  road  impossible.  It  was  then  that  the  heroic  missionary  had  his 
reward  for  all  his  toil  and  trouble  in  hauling  his  old  wagon  across  the 
country,  for  he  could  now  reply:  "  Mr.  Secretary,  that  is  the  grand  mistake 

M— 23 


392  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

that  has  been  made  by  listening  to  the  enemies  of  American  interests  in 
Oregon.  Six  years  ago  I  was  told  that  there  was  no  wagon  road  to  Oregon, 
and  that  it  was  impossible  to  take  a  wagon  there,  and  yet  in  despite  of 
pleadings  and  almost  threats,  I  took  a  wagon  over  the  road,  and  have,  it 
now."  This  plain  statement  had  an  effect  which  any  amount  of  argument 
and  oratory  could  not  have  produced. 

It  was  a  new  experience  to  these  experienced  politicians  to  meet  a  man 
who  could  plead  so  eloquently  for  the  cause  of  his  country,  and  still  have 
no  selfish  interests  of  his  own  to  serve,  and  when  he  asked  that  they  would 
not  barter  away  Oregon  until  they  had  given  him  an  opportunity  to  lead  a 
band  of  stalwart  American  settlers  across  the  plains,  they  could  not  well 
refuse.  After  receiving  this  promise  he  hurried  to  Boston  to  report  to  the 
missionary  board,  who  in  turn  severely  censured  him  for  leaving  his  station. 

Meanwhile  General  Lovejoy  had  published  far  and  wide  that  Dr.  Whit- 
man and  himself  would  lead  a  party  of  emigrants 'across  the  country  to 
Oregon  early  in  the  spring,  and  a  rendezvous  was  appointed  not  far  from 
the  spot  where  Kansas  City  now  stands.  The  grass  that  year  was  late  and 
the  band  of  emigrants  did  not  start  until  the  first  week  in  June.  The 
journey  was  long  and  dangerous,  but  was  safely  accomplished,  and  when 
in  September  one  thousand  immigrants  with  their  wagons  and  stock 
entered  the  long  disputed  territory,  the  hearts  of  Dr.  Whitman  and  all 
other  patriotic  Americans  with  him  thrilled  with  joy  as  they  realized  that 
at  last  Oregon  was  saved  to  the  Union. 

That  Dr.  Whitman  was  the  means  of  saving  Oregon  to  the  United 
States  there  can  be  no  doubt.  A  Senate  document,  the  forty-first  Congress 
February  9, 1871,  reads:  "There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Whit- 
man, in  1843,  was  opportune.  The  delay  incident  to  a  transfer  of  negotia- 
tions to  London  was  fortunate,  for  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  if  former 
negotiations  had  been  renewed  in  Washington,  and  that  if  for  the  sake  of 
a  settlement  of  the  protracted  controversy  and  the  only  remaining  unad- 
judicated  cause  of  difference  between  the  two  governments,  the  offer  had 
been  renewed  of  the  49th  parallel  to  the  Columbia  and  thence  down  the 
river  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  it  would  have  been  accepted.  The  visit  of 
Whitman  committed  the  President  against  any  such  action."  Before  Dr. 
Whitman  left  Washington  a  message  was  on  its  way  to  Mr.  Everett,  our 
minister  to  England  telling  him  that  "the  United  States  will  consent  to 
give  nothing  below  the  latitude  of  forty-nine  degrees." 

After  Dr.  Whitman's  return  to  Waiilatpui  he  resumed  his  labors  among 
the  Indians,  and  for  a  number  of  years  devoted  himself  entirely  to  their 


CHIRICHUA  APACHES  AS  THEY  ARRIVED  AT  CARLISLE  FROM   FORT  MARION.   FLORIDA,  NOVEMBER  4,   1885. 


THE  SAME  CHILDREN   FOUR   MONTHS  AFTER  ARRIVING  AT  CARLISLE.— SEE  PAGE  860. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  395 

interests,  healing  the  sick,  teaching  the  ignorant,  and  counting  no  labor 
too  great  if  it  resulted  in  their  benefit.  Yet  the  Indians  seemed  changed. 
When  the  Whitmans  first  began  to  work  among  them  they  were  willing 
to  comply  with  all  requests,  but  now  for  some  years  a  feeling  of  dissatis- 
faction had  been  slowly  creeping  in.  The  missionaries  insisted  on  their 
cultivating  the  ground  and  supporting  themselves  by  their  own  labor,  and 
of  this  mode  of  life  the  Indians  soon  grew  weary.  They  were  also  insti- 
gated to  deeds  of  violence  by  various  enemies  of  the  missionaries.  Al- 
though Dr.  Whitman  was  aware  of  the  existence  of  this  hostile  spirit,  it 
seemed  impossible  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  any  real  danger  in  the 
face  of  his  loving  service  among  them  for  eleven  years,  when  on  the  28th 
of  November,  1847,  an  Indian  named  Istikus,  who  was  the  firm  friend  of 
Dr.  Whitman,  told  him  of  threats  against  his  life  and  also  that  he  had  bet- 
ter "  go  away  until  my  people  have  better  hearts."  Knowing  Istikus  as  he 
did,  the  brave  missionary  for  the  first  time  became  seriously  alarmed,  and 
began  to  think  of  removing  his  family  to  some  place  of  safety,  but  still 
went  about  his  work  as  usual. 

The  next  morning  the  doctor  assisted  in  burying  an  Indian,  and  having 
returned  to  his  house,  was  reading.  Several  Indians  were  in  the  house  ; 
one  sat  down  by  him  to  attract  his  attention  by  asking  for  medicine,  while 
another  came  behind  him  with  a  tomahawk  concealed  beneath  his  blanket, 
and  with  two  blows  brought  him  to  the  floor  senseless ;  still  he  was  not 
dead  when  another  Indian,  who  was  a  candidate  for  admission  to  the 
church  and  on  whom  Dr.  Whitman  had  bestowed  numberless  benefits, 
came  in  and  cut  his  throat  and  mutilated  his  face,  but  even  then  the 
murdered  man  lingered  until  nearly  night.  This  was  only  the  beginning  of 
a  most  sickening  massacre  in  which  fourteen  people,  including  Mrs.  Whit- 
man, lost  their  lives. 

It  was  believed  by  those  familiar  with  the  facts  that  this  foul  massacre 
was  instigated  by  the  enemies  of  the  people  murdered  and  of  the  cause  in 
which  they  were  engaged. 

Despite  his  cruel  and  bloody  death,  the  missionary  work  of  Marcus 
Whitman  was  far  from  fruitless.  Though  the  work  of  the  American  Board 
ended  so  suddenly  and  disastrously,  years  afterward  it  was  found  that 
many  of  the  Indians  were  still  faithful  to  the  religion  taught  them  by  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Whitman.  Neither  will  his  name  be  forgotten  so  long  as  the 
walls  of  Whitman  College  stand  as  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  a  man 
who  was  glad  to  suffer  untold  privations  for  the  good  of  his  country  and 
his  fellow  men,  and  at  last  perished  through  his  devotion  to  his  duty. 


396 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


If  Dr.  Whitman  could  to-day  make  the  long  journey  from  the  Columbia 
to  the  national  capital  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  and  could  the  insti- 
tutions of  learning  and  church  spires  now  standing  in  the  districts,  villages, 
towns  and  cities  through  which  he  would  pass  be  placed  in  line  at  con- 
venient distances,  he  would  never  for  a  moment  be  out  of  sight  of  these 
objects  most  pleasing  to  him  in  life. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 
DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  COLUMBIA. 

THE  INDIAN   SIGN  LANGUAGE  —  TUB   CHINOOK   LANGUAGE  —  VANCOUVER   BARRACKS  —  TROOPS    ;N 

THE    DEPARTMENT  —  WORK    ACCOMPLISHED  —  UNEXPLORED    REGIONS — EXPEDITION    OF 

LIEUTENANT  SYMONS  —  OF  LIEUTENANT  PIERCE  —  OTHER  SURVEYS  —  VISIT  OF 

GENERAL  SHERMAN  —  EFFECT  OF  RAILROAD  BUILDING  —  NEW  COAST 

BATTERIES  —  RESERVATIONS    AND    NUMBER    OF    INDIANS. 

assuming  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Columbia, 
August  2.  1881,  I  found  the  headquarters  located  at  Vancouver 
Barracks,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Columbia  River,  in  what 
was  then  Washington  Territory.  This  post  is  six  miles  north 
of  Portland,  Oregon,  and  was  formerly  an  old  Hudson  Bay 
trading  station,  having  been  located  there  during  the  early 
days  when  the  principal  commerce  of  the  territory  was  in  the 
form  of  barter  with  the  Indians  for  the  furs  which  were  the  chief  arti- 
cles of  merchandise  at  that  time. 

In  order  to  communicate  with  the  different  tribes  scattered  over  that 
vast  territory  it  had  become  necessary  to  invent  or  create  a  common 
language.  For,  unlike  the  Indians  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the 
tribes  on  the  Pacific  seaboard  spoke  tribal  languages,  and  had  no  common 
means  of  communication.  The  various  tribes  of  Plains  Indians  com- 
municated with  each  other  by  means  of  what  is  known  as  the  sign 
language.  Motions,  and  positions  of  the  fingers  and  hands,  conveyed 
their  ideas  and  constituted  a  language  almost  identical  with  that  used  by 
the  deaf  and  dumb  of  the  present  day  in  the  asylums  and  schools  estab- 
lished for  their  benefit.*  In  the  absence  of  any  such  method  of  com- 
munication, the  Hudson  Bay  fur  traders  were  obliged  to  create  one,  and 
this  eventually  came  to  be  known  as  the  Chinook  language,  consisting 
of  a  few  words  whose  meaning  was  agreed  upon  to  express  the  ideas  most 
used  in  ordinary  conversation.  This  was  adopted  by  nearly  all  the  tribes 

The  difference  being  that  the  deaf  mutes  use  our  common  alphabet,  each  sign  meaning  a  letter,  and  that 
Words  are  in  their  way  spelled  out  by  them  in  talking.  To  the  Plains  Indians  an  alphabet  was  unknown,  and 
With  them  a  sign  might  express  an  animal,  an  occurrence,  a  day,  an  entire  fact  of  any  kind. 


398 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


1 


on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  is  still  understood  by  some  of  the  tribes  now  in 
Alaska. 

Vancouver  Barracks  was  located  near  the  town  of  Vancouver,  on  the 
Columbia,  and  upon  a  mesa  a  few  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  that 

river,  on  a  command- 
ing position  overlook- 
ing the  beautiful 
valley,  and  within 
sight  of  the 
picturesque 
Cascade 
range,  which 
embraces  a 
c luster  of 
the  grandest 
mount  ains 
on  the  con- 
tinent. The 
post  was  at 
that  time 
commanded 
by  Colonel 
Henry  H- 
Morrow, 
T  w  ent  y- 
First  In- 
fantry, a 

most  accomplished  and  gallant  soldier  and  a  man  of  great  learning.  He 
was  a  fine  lawyer,  having  been  a  judge  on  the  bench  in  Michigan  during  a 
period  of  ten  years  at  a  very  early  age.  He  afterward  won  high  dis- 
tinction in  the  Civil  War,  reaching  the  rank  of  general,  and  being,  in 
addition,  breveted  for  extraordinary  gallantry. 

I  found  in  the  Department  of  the  Columbia  a  force  of  over  fifteen 
hundred  troops,  located  at  the  various  military  stations  which  were  scat- 
tered over  a  territory  (not  including  Alaska)  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  square  miles  in  extent.  This  vast  region  was  then  occupied 
only  by  scattered  settlements,  ranches,  mining  camps,  and  isolated  homes. 
It  was  also  the  home  of  bands  of  nomadic  Indians.  The  interests  and 
welfare  of  the  two  races  were  constantly  clashing,  and  there  was  danger 


THE  SIGN  LAXGI'AGE. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  399 

of  serious  hostilities  at  any  moment.  The  white  settlers  looked  to  the 
army  for  defence,  and  the  Indians  in  turn  applied  to  the  military  for  the 
protection  of  their  rights  and  privileges. 

In  order  to  make  the  best  use  of  troops,  measures  were  taken  to  facili- 
tate communication  between  these  scattered  posts,  to  aid  in  the  concentra- 
tion of  the  available  forces,  and  at  the  same  time  to  promote  their  general 
efficiency.  In  addition  to  their  ordinary  duties  the  troops  were  put  to 
work  in  the  construction  of  military  roads  and  the  establishment  of 
military  telegraph  lines.  These  not  only  added  to  the  efficiency  of  the 
military  force,  but  also  greatly  benefited  the  citizens.  Measures  were  also 
taken  at  all  the  military  posts  to  improve  the  physical  condition  of  the 
troops  by  a  thorough  system  of  athletic  drills  and  exercises.  Colonel 
Morrow  was  one  of  the  first  to  establish  what  has  since  been  so  beneficial 
to  the  army,  the  Canteen  Exchange.  This  is  really  a  post  club  for  the 
benefit  of  the  soldiers.  One  of  the  first,  largest,  and  best  of  the  military 
gymnasiums  was  established  at  Vancouver. 

During  this  year  facilities  were  afforded  the  soldiers  with  families  to 
provide  homes  for  themselves  at  the  expiration  of  their  term  of  service, 
and  to  secure  suitable  employment.  All  the  troops  in  the  department 
were  thoroughly  equipped  for  immediate  field  service;  each  company,  troop, 
and  battery  was  made  a  unit  of  organization  and  demonstration.  Each 
had  its  allowance  of  field  equipment,  including  tents,  field  supplies,  trans- 
portation, cooking  utensils,  extra  clothing,  hospital  supplies,  and  every- 
thing required  for  immediate  and  continuous  service  in  the  field,  and  enough 
to  last  for  several  months. 

In  the  department  were  several  sections  of  country  that  had  not  been 
fully  explored,  and  other  sections  of  whose  topography  there  was  no 
knowledge  whatever.  With  a  view  of  obtaining  the  knowledge  which 
would  be  indispensable  in  case  the  country  had  to  be  occupied  by  the 
military,  and  that  would  also  be  valuable  to  citizens  seeking  a  knowledge 
of  those  districts,  I  organized  several  exploring  expeditions.  In  fact, 
during  the  four  years  in  which  I  was  in  command  of  that  department, 
there  was  constantly  some  expedition  in  the  field  obtaining  information 
about  those  interesting  and  to  a  great  extent  unknown  portions  of  our 
country. 

In  January,  1882,  Lieutenant  Thomas  W.  Symons  made  an  exploration 
and  examination  of  the  Columbia  River  from  the  line  of  British  Columbia 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Snake  River,  and  obtained  much  valuable  information 
concerning  that  extensive  district. 


400  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

In  July  of  the  same  year  an  expedition  was  organized  to  explore  the 
region  between  the  upper  Columbia  and  Puget  Sound,  then  but  little 
known.  It  was  a  small  expedition,  and  was  placed  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant  Henry  H.  Pierce  of  the  Twenty-first  United  States  Infantry, 
who  performed  the  duty  in  a  most  efficient  manner. 

After  making  the  necessary  preparations  at  Fort  (Jolville,  the  above 
mentioned  expedition  left  that  place  on  the  first  of  August,  and  the  next 
day  crossed  the  Columbia  by  ferry  and  encamped  on  the  western  side. 
From  there  the  Columbia  was  skirted  along  a  good  trail  for  a  distance  of 
six  miles;  thence  the  expedition  moved  westward  past  lofty  mountains, 
dashing  torrents  and  beautiful  lakes,  fording  numerous  creeks  and  rivers, 
and  at  the  end  of  ten  days  reached  the  Okinakane,  a  swift,  deep  river  that 
flows  into  the  Columbia  from  the  north. 

From  one  of  his  camps  on  this  river,  Lieutenant  Pierce  desired  to  send 
back  a  telegram  and  letters  to  Fort  Colville,  and  engaged  an  old  Indian  to 
carry  them.  Before  giving  the  Indian  his  compensation,  Lieutenant 
Pierce  asked  him  if  he  was  an  honest  man;  not  that  he  doubted  him,  but 
he  wished  to  hear  his  answer.  With  great  dignity,  and  with  something 
of  an  injured  look,  the  old  man  replied,  "  Me  honest  Indian.  Me  afraid 
to  do  wrong  for  fear  some  one  there,"  pointing  upwards,  "see  me  and  be 
angry."  Then  shaking  hands,  he  mounted  his  pony  and  rode  slowly 
away. 

Leaving  the  Okinakane,  they  passed  over  to  the  Methow.  The  latter  is 
a  beautiful  stream,  so  clear  that  the  granite  boulders  beneath  its  surface 
may  be  plainly  seen  as  it  winds  along  its  tortuous  course,  fringed  on  either 
side  with  poplars,  balms  and  evergreens,  and  draining  an  extremely  fertile 
country.  Then,  still  moving  toward  the  west,  they  journeyed  on  between 
lofty  mountains  and  over  dizzy  paths  where  a  downward  glance  was 
enough  to  make  the  firmest  head  to  reel;  fording  turbulent  rivers,  pushing 
through  almost  impenetrable  underbrush,  crossing  swampy  areas,  they 
went  on  until  at  last  they  gained  the  passage  of  the  main  cascades.  Here 
they  were  beset  by  so  many  obstacles  that  it  was  almost  impossible  for 
them  to  proceed  further,  but  their  courage  and  perseverance  finally  over- 
came every  difficulty  and  they  reached  the  other  side  of  the  mountains  in 
safety.  From  here  they  followed  the  course  of  the  Cascade  River,  cross- 
ing it  several  times,  down  to  the  point  where  it  empties  into  the  Skagit. 
For  their  passage  down  that  river  they  were  fortunate  enough  to  obtain 
canoes  from  the  Indians,  and  on  September  5,  landed  at  Mount  Vernon  to 
await  the  coming  of  the  steamer. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


401 


This  reconnoissance  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-five  miles  was  through 
a  country  never  before,  so  far  as  known,  visited  by  white  men,  and  was  the 
first  contribution  to  its  geography. 

Other  surveys  and  reconnoissances  were  made  of  which  the  following 
were  the  more  important;  reconnoissance  from  Fort  Townsend,  Washing- 
ton, to  the  Dungeness  River;  reconnoissance  through  Bruneau  and  Duck 
Valleys,  Idaho;  reconnoissance  of  the  country  bordering  on  the  Sprague 
River,  Oregon;  surveying  route  for  telegraph  line  between  Forts  Kla- 
math,  Oregon,  and  Bidwell,  California,  and  from  Fort  Spokane  to 

Spokane  Falls;  surveying 
route  for  road  from  Fort 
Colville  to  Fort  Spokane, 
Washington;  march  of  in- 
struction from  Fort  Lap- 
wai  to  the  Lolo  Trail, 
Idaho. 

At  this  time  the  con- 
dition of  the  various  In- 
dian tribes  in  the  territory 
was  satisfactory,  and  they 
were  in  better  condition 
to  receive  the  full  benefits 
of  protection  and  share 
the  responsibilities  of  civil 
government  than  was  gen- 
erally supposed. 

In  August,  1882,  Gen- 
eral Sherman  visited  the 
northern  posts  in  the  De- 
partment of  the  Colum- 
bia, on  his  last  official  tour 
of    inspection,    and    was 
received  with  every  token 
of  respect  and  affection. 
He  expressed  himself  as 
much  pleased  with  the   military  bearing  and  discipline   of  the  troops. 
The  construction  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  and  other  routes  of 
travel  made  a  great  change  in  the  means  of  communication  with  that 
northwest  country,  making  it  possible  to  move  troops  in  a  single  day  as 


DIZZY  HEIGHTS. 


402  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

great  a  distance  as  would  previously  have  occupied  several  weeks.  As  far  as 
possible,  I  discontinued  the  small  and  ineffective  posts  and  concentrated 
the  troops  in  larger  garrisons  where  they  would  have  better  advantages  in 
the  way  of  instruction  and  discipline,  and  could  be  maintained  at  less  ex- 
pense. Fort  Canby  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  Forts  Walla  Walla, 
Spokane,  Coeur  d'Alene,  and  Sherman,  were  made  the  principal  posts 
of  the  department,  with  troops  stationed  for  immediate  use  in  the  sec- 
tions of  country  most  liable  to  Indian  hostility,  while  Vancouver  Barracks 
served  as  a  station  for  a  strong  reserve  force  for  the  entire  department. 
This  last-named  post  was  particularly  adapted  to  the  purpose  mentioned, 
owing  to  its  near  proximity  to  Portland,  Oregon,  which,  from  its  railroad 
connection  and  river  and  ocean  service,  was  accessible  from  all  sections 
of  the  country. 

In  1884,  in  spite  of  its  great  commercial  importance,  and  the  large 
number  of  thriving  towns  that  had  grown  up  on  its  shores.  Puget  Sound 
was  still  in  a  defenseless  condition.  The  government  had  reserved  im- 
portant sites  for  batteries  and  defensive  works  at  the  entrance  of  the 
sound,  and  during  the  year  mentioned  I  ordered  a  board  of  experienced 
artillery  officers  to  report  as  to  their  relative  importance,  and  the  proper 
armament,  garrison,  and  work  necessary  to  place  them  in  proper  condi- 
tion for  use. 

Having  occasion  to  mount  one  battery  of  artillery,  I  secured  several 
Hotchkiss  revolving  cannon,  invented  by  an  American  and  manufactured 
in  Paris,  France,  and  the  result  of  the  practice  with  these  was  most  satis- 
factory. Although  the  fact  of  a  cannon  being  fired  from  the  shoulder  of 
an  artillerist  seemed  somewhat  novel,  yet  experience  proved  these  guns  to 
be  the  most  destructive  that  had  up  to  that  time  been  used  in  the  United 
States  army.  It  is  singular  that  many  American  inventors  have  to  go  to 
Europe  to  have  their  inventions  adopted.  Here  was  a  case  of  an  American 
officer  on  the  Pacific  Coast  making  application  for  a  certain  class  of  artil- 
lery guns ;  they  were  manufactured  in  Paris,  bought  by  our  government, 
shipped  across  the  Atlantic,  then  across  the  continent  and  placed  in  service 
on  the  Columbia  River. 

Instruction  in  signaling  and  the  familiarizing  the  troops  with  the  use 
of  the  latest  modern  appliances  received  attention  at  all  the  posts  in 
the  department,  and  experiments  were  made  with  the  heliostat  with 
most  gratifying  results.  From  Vancouver  Barracks  fo  the  summit  of 
Mount  Hood,  fifty  miles  in  an  air  line,  these  flashes  of  the  heliostat  could 
be  distinctly  seen  with  the  naked  eye. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


403 


Owing  to  the  rapid  settlement  of  the  country  the  lower  Columbia  In- 
dians were  in  many  cases  unjustly  deprived  of  their  cultivated  grounds, 
their  salmon  fisheries,  and  other  means  of  support,  and  I  had  great  diffi- 
culty in  preventing  active  hostilities  between  them  and  the  settlers.  The 
Indians  were  finally  pacified,  however,  and  numbers  of  them  were  assisted 
by  the  military  in  locating  their  claims  to  homesteads  under  the  laws  of 
Congress. 

In  the  Territory  of  Washington  there  were  in  1884  fifteen  Indian  reser- 
vations, inhabited  by  over  ten  thousand  six  hundred  Indians.  The  total 
amount  of  land  comprised  within  these  reservations  was  over  six  hundred 
thousand  acres,  and  consisted  largely  of  the  best  agricultural,  grazing, 
timber  and  mineral  lands  in  the  Territory.  In  many  places  the  Indians 
were  engaged  in  cultivating  the  soil  with  good  results,  the  system  of  al- 
lotting a  suitable  quantity  of  land  to  them  in  several ty  having  a  most 
excellent  effect. 


404  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 
CHIEF  MOSES  AND  His  TRIBE. 

TTIE  BEGINNING  OF  TROUBLE  —  CHIEF  MOSES  AND  THE  MOSES  RESERVATION  —  CAUSES  OF  DISSATIS- 
FACTION—  ACTION   OF  COLONEL   MERRIAM  —  INVESTIGATION  BY    CAPTAIN    BALDWIN  — 
MEETING  AND    COUNCIL  AT  VANCOUVER — A  NEW    TREATY    AND  A   NEW 
RESERVATION  —  THE  RESULTS  —  LOOPLOOP'S  STATEMENT  OF  THE 
SITUATION  —  REVIEW  OF  THE   NEZ  PERC£  SITUA- 
TION ON  THEIR  FINAL  RETURN  FROM 
THE  INDIAN  TERRITORY. 

ONTROVERSIES  arose  in  1878  between  the  Indians  of  the 
-  upper  Columbia  and  the  white  people  of  Yakima  County  and 
vicinity.  These  troubles  eventually  resulted  in  the  arrest  of 
Chief  Moses,  who  was  a  prominent  character,  although  many  of 
the  Indians  did  not  recognize  him  as  having  any  authority  over 
them.  Chief  Moses  was  kept  in  prison  for  some  time,  but  this 
did  not  allay  the  restlessness  of  his  followers,  and  additional 
troops  were  sent  to  the  Yakima  Valley. 

In  1879  Moses,  with  a  number  of  other  Indians,  was  sent  to  Washington, 
where  he  made  a  treaty  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  by  which  a  tract 
of  land  was  set  apart  for  the  use  of  himself  and  his  people.  This  reserva- 
tion was  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Okinakane  River,  on  the  south  by  the 
Columbia  and  Lake  Chelan,  on  the  west  by  the  forty-fourth  parallel,  and 
extended  to  the  Canadian  boundary  on  the  north.  The  country  in  question 
embraced  approximately  four  thousand  two  hundred  square  miles,  known 
as  the  Moses  reservation,  and  was  worth  many  millions  of  dollars. 
Certain  white  men  afterward  declared  that  they  had  discovered  mines  and 
occupied  ranches  on  this  reservation  long  before  it  was  transferred  to  the 
Indians.  This  region  was  rich  in  agricultural,  pastoral  and  mineral 
resources  and  contained  rich  deposits  of  gold  and  silver. 

The  benefits  intended  to  be  secured  by  this  treaty  did  not  last  very 
long,  as  Moses  and  the  other  Indians  soon  complained  that  its  various  pro- 
visions were  not  carried  out  by  the  government,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
citizens  who  had  made  their  homes  in  the  reservation  before  it  became 
such,  remonstrated  strongly  against  a  treaty  by  which  they  were  deprived 
of  their  property  and  rights.  These  settlers  had  discovered,  had  claimed 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  405 

according  to  law.  and  had  actually  worked  valuable  mines  located  in 
Stevens  County.  There  had  even  been  voting  precincts  established,  and 
elections  had  been  held  within  its  boundaries.  In  spite  of  these  facts, 
when  the  Moses  reservation  was  set  apart  by  executive  order  all  these 
people  were  peremptorily  told  that  they  must  leave  that  part  of  the 
country,  although  some  of  them  had  lived  there  for  many  years.  They, 
however,  did  not  all  obey  the  order.  The  Indians  grew  more  and  more 
dissatisfied,  and  Moses  demanded  that  if  the  white  people  would  not  leave, 
they  should  at  least  ac- 
knowledge their  holdings 
to  be  on  an  Indian  reserva- 
tion and  ask  his  permis- 
sion to  work  their  mines. 
An  executive  order  restoring  a 
strip  of  land  fifteen  miles  wide  south 
of  the  Canadian  boundary  was  also 
much  resented  by  the  Indians. 

At  last  there  were  rumors  that  a  general 
war  council  of  the  Indians  had  been  called, 
whereupon  Colonel  Merriam,  a  very  intelli- 
gent and  judicious   officer  of  the   Second 
United   States  Infantry,  the  com- 
mander at  Fort  Spokane,  was  as- 
signed the   duty  of   adjusting   the 
causes  of  dispute.     This  he  endeavored 
to  do  by  rigidly  excluding  white  settlers 
from  any  part  of  the  Moses  reservation 
south  of  the  fifteen-mile  limit  of  the  strip    WATOHISO  TIIE  CoMINQ  OF  T1IE  WmTB  MAN 
above  mentioned,  that  had  been  restored 

to  the  public  domain  by  executive  order.  Indians  who  had  farms  on 
this  strip  were  recognized  by  him  as  having  the  same  rights  on  unreserved 
public  land  as  the  white  people  had. 

In  May,  1883,  Captain  Baldwin,  one  of  the  most  judicious  and  compe- 
tent officers  I  had  in  that  department,  was  ordered  to  proceed  to  the  Moses 
and  Colville  reservations,  and  investigate  the  reported  dissatisfaction  of 
the  Indians  located  there.  On  the  Colville  reservation  he  succeeded  in 
meeting  Tonasket,  head  chief  of  the  Okinagans,  and  found  him  an  intelli- 
gent, industrious  Indian,  much  respected  by  all  his  people  as  well  as  by 
the  white  settlers.  He  said  that  neither  he  nor  his  band  desired  to  have 


406  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

trouble  with  the  white  people,  but  on  the  contrary  wished  to  live  in  peace 
with  them  if  possible.  He  complained  that  their  agent  had  not  visited 
them  for  several  years.  These  Indians  greatly  desired  a  gristmill,  as  they 
were  obliged  to  take  their  grain  thirty  miles  into  British  Columbia  in  order 
to  have  it  ground,  and  even  then  the  miller  claimed  one- 
half  of  it  for  toll.  They  were  also  anxious  for  a  sawmill 
and  other  appliances  used  by  civilized  people. 

After  Captain  Baldwin's  conversation  with   Tonasket, 
Sarsopkin,  a  chief  of  the  Okinagans  on  the  Moses  reserva- 
tion, came  to  him  to  have  a  talk.     This  Indian  and  his  fol- 
lowers were  the  ones  who  really  had  to  suffer  from 
the  restoration  of  the  fifteen-mile  strip,  as  they  had 
lived  within  its  boundaries  and  cultivated  the  farms 
there  for  many  years.   Sarsopkin  expressed  a  strong 
desire  to  remain  in  the  place  which  had  been  his 
home  for  generations,  but  disclaimed  all  idea  of 
using  force  to   maintain  his    rights.      His  people 

were  farmers  and,  for  Indians  and  considering  the  fact  that  they  had  re- 
ceived no  aid  or  encouragement  from  the  government,  were  in  an  ad- 
vanced stage  of  civilization. 

All  the  Indians  who  were  approached  on  the  subject,  united  in  expres- 
sing the  same  views;  and  all  complained  very  bitterly  because  Moses  was 
recognized  by  the  government  as  their  chief.  Both  Tonasket  and  Sarsopkiu 
asked:  "  Why  does  the  government  place  over  us,  who  make  our  living  by 
farming,  a  man  who  never  works,  but  gambles,  drinks  and  races  horses 
with  the  money  he  collects  from  the  white  men  who  graze  cattle  on  our 
reservation?  We  want  a  chief  who  works,  and  sets  a  good  example  for 
our  young  men."  Nearly  all  the  Indians  expressed  a  desire  to  have  the 
white  people  come  among  them  and  work  the  mines,  but  emphatically  ex- 
pressed their  determination  not  to  allow  them  to  usurp  the  farming  and 
pasture  lands.  They  reasoned  in  this  way:  "When  the  white  men  come 
and  get  the  money  out  of  the  rocks  they  will  give  it  to  us  for  what  we  can 
grow  from  the  ground,  and  for  our  cattle  and  horses,  and  in  this  way  we 
will  get  rich  like  the  white  men." 

Regardless  of  these  friendly  protestations  on  the  part  of  many  In- 
dians, the  hostile  feeling  between  the  two  races  increased  until  it  became 
so  violent  that  a  serious  Indian  war  was  threatened.  The  white  people 
seemed  determined  to  exterminate  the  Indians,  and  the  Indians  to  annihi- 
late the  white  settlers  or  drive  them  out  of  the  country.  Realizing  the 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  407 

difficulties,  expenses  and  sacrifices,  as  well  as  the  cruelties  of  Indian  war- 
fare, I  thought  it  better  if  possible  to  endeavor  to  secure  justice  for  the  In- 
dians, and,  at  the  same  time,  protection  for  the  white  settlers.  I  therefore  sent 
out  officers  to  find  Chief  Moses  and  other  prominent  men,  and  summon  them 
to  my  headquarters  at  Vancouver,  for  counsel.  When  they  came  I  listened 
to  all  their  grievances  and  their  statements  of  what  they  believed  to  be 
their  rights;  what  they  expected  the  government  to  guarantee  to  do  for 
them,  and  also  to  their  recital  of  the  aggressions  of  the  white  people.  I  also 
heard  the  accounts  of  the  depredations  of  the  Indians  and  their  trespasses 
upon  the  property  of  the  white  settlers.  With  a  view  of  settling  the  whole 
difficulty  without  proceeding  to  hostilities,  I  obtained  permission  to  send  a 
delegation  of  the  Indians,  accompanied  by  Captain  Baldwin,  to  Washing- 
ton, that  they  might  have  an  opportunity  to  negotiate  a  treaty  that  would 
be  satisfactory  to  both  Indians  and  settlers,  and  at  the  same  time  be  cred- 
itable to  the  general  government. 

On  the  7th  of  July,  1883,  they  made  an  agreement  with  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  whereby  they  engaged  to  give  up  all  claim  to  the  Colum- 
bia or  Moses  reservation,  and  remove  to  the  Colville  reservation.  In 
consideration  of  this  concession,  Moses  and  Tonasket  were  to  receive  an 
annuity  of  $1,000  each  as  long  as  they  lived.  Moses  was  also  to  receive 
a  house  costing  $1,000.  For  the  benefit  of  the  whole  number  of  Indians, 
two  schoolhouses  were  to  be  built  and  two  sawmills  and  gristmills.  There 
were  to  be  provided,  three  teachers,  two  sawyers,  two  millers,  and  one 
doctor,  for  the  use  of  each  of  whom  a  house  was  to  be  erected.  Four 
hundred  and  sixty  cows  were  to  be  furnished,  as  well  as  a  large  number  of 
wagons  and  agricultural  implements.  The  Indians  already  located  on 
the  Moses  reservation  who  wished  to  remain  were  to  be  allowed  to  take 
up  land  there  in  severalty  under  existing  laws. 

On  the  31st  of  August  an  order  was  issued,  directing  Captain  Baldwin 
to  visit  the  Indians  concerned  in  this  agreement  and  explain  to  them  all 
its  terms  and  effects.  First  Lieutenant  James  Ulio,  Second  Lieutenant 
John  S.  Mallory,  and  Topographical  Assistant  Alfred  Downing  were 
detailed  to  assist  him  in  carrying  out  these  instructions. 

All  necessary  preparations  having  been  concluded  at  old  Fort  Colville, 
on  September  10,  Captain  Baldwin  directed  Lieutenant  Ulio  to  proceed  to 
the  southern  portion  of  the  Moses  reservation,  explain  the  agreement  to 
the  Indians,  and  should  any  of  them  desire  it,  locate  and  carefully  survey 
for  each  head  of  a  family  or  male  adult,  a  tract  of  land  containing  not 
more  than  six  hundred  and  forty  acres. 


408 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


Topographical  Assistant  Downing  was  detached  under  orders  to  pro- 
ceed to,  and  carefully  examine  the  falls  of  Bonaparte  Creek  and  the 
Nespilene,  where  it  was  proposed  to  locate  the  promised  sawmills  and  grist- 
mills. Lieutenant  Mallory  remained  with  the  main  party  until  the  13th, 
when  he  was  sent  to  that  part  of  the  Columbia  reservation  lying  north  of 
the  region  to  be  examined  by  Lieutenant  Ulio. 

The  result  of  his  own  investigations  satisfied  Captain  Baldwin  that 
great  good  had  been  effected  by  the  visit  of  the  three  chiefs  to  Washington. 
They  had  all  carefully  explained  the  agreement  to  their  people,  who 
seemed  disposed  to  look  upon  it  favorably.  Sarsopkin  and  his  following, 
without  an  exception,  were  willing  to  move  to  the  Colville  reservation, 


many  of  them  hav- 
far  as  to  select  the 
future  homes.  On 
Baldwin  dis- 
ger  to  Moses  to  no- 
desired  to  see  him, 
rived  on  the  even- 
having  ridden 
day.  He  said  that 
made  up  their 
him  to  the  Colville 
would  be  ready  as 
season  was  over, 
made  up  of  what 
''wild"  Indians; 


CHERUBS,  INDIAN  BABIES  IN  THEIR  CRADLES. 


mg  even  gone  so 
location  of  their 
the  18th  Captain 
patched  a  messen- 
tify  him  that  he 
and  the  chief  ar- 
ing  of  the  20th. 
eighty  miles  that 
all  his  people  had 
minds  to  go  with 
reservation,  and 
soon  as  the  fishing 
This  band  was 
were  known  as 
they  had  always 
(salmon)  and  game 
farming. 


depended  upon  fish 

for    food,     and    knew    absolutely    nothing    about 

Tonasket,  the  principal  chief  of  the  Colville  Indians,  was  a  man  of  great 
force  of  character.  Although  he  had  received  little  or  no  help  from  the  gov- 
ernment, he  exhibited  a  deep  interest  in  the  fortunes  of  his  people,  urging 
them  to  work  and  take  up  lands,  but  his  greatest  desire  was  to  see  a  suit- 
able school  provided  for  them.  He  and  his  people  not  only  consented  that 
all  the  Indians  on  the  Columbia  should  establish  themselves  on  the  Colville 
reservation,  but  that  all  others  who  wished  to  settle  down  and  become 
industrious  farmers  should  enjoy  its  benefits.  Captain  Baldwin  was  much 
pleased  with  the  members  of  Tonasket's  band,  considering  them  further 
advanced  in  civilization  than  any  Indians  he  had  seen  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  409 

Lieutenant  Ulio  visited  a  number  of  families,  five  of  whom  consented 
to  allow  him  to  locate  farms  for  them.  He  also  had  a  conversation  with 
Chelan  Jim,  who  had  become  the  recognized  chief  of  a  small  band  of  Indians. 
At  first  this  man  refused  to  either  locate  any  land  or  to  move  on  the 
Colville  reservation,  but  afterward  he  consented  to  consider  the 
matter. 

Lieutenant  Mallory,  after  leaving  Captain  Baldwin's  camp  near  the 
junction  of  Curlew  Creek  with  Kettle  River,  continued  over  the  Little 
Mountain  trail  to  the  mouth  of  the  creek  just  mentioned,  and  from  there 
over  a  magnificent  belt  of  country  to  the  lake  where  the  creek  takes  it 
source.  This  lake  proved  to  be  a  beautiful  body  of  water  about  eight 
and  a  half  miles  in  length.  Soon  afterward  he  came  to  another  lake,  much 
smaller  than  the  first  and  oval  in  shape,  which  proved  to  be  the  source  of 
the  San  Polle  River.  He  had  never  seen  a  map  on  which  either  of  these 
lakes  was  noted.  Having  crossed  the  Okinakane  and  marched  along  its 
farther  bank  for  some  distance,  he  came  upon  several  ranches  owned  by 
Indians.  One  of  them  named  Looploop  was  a  man  about  fifty  years  of  age, 
with  a  thoughtful,  intelligent  face.  In  a  long  talk  with  Lieutenant  Mallory 
this  Indian  expressed  his  opinion  very  freely,  both  concerning  the  preten- 
sions of  Moses  and  the  general  situation  of  affairs,  and  as  he  voiced  the 
sentiments  of  a  great  many  others  his  words  are  worth  repeating.  He  said: 
"  There  are  four  things  above  all  others  which  you  white  men  tell  us  we 
should  avoid ;  lying,  thieving,  drunkenness  and  murder.  Moses  is  a  liar  ; 
Moses  is  a  thief ;  Moses  is  a  drunkard,  and  Moses  is  a  murderer.  Yet,  he  is 
the  man  you  have  set  as  chief  over  us,  and  he  is  the  man  you  send  to 
Washington  to  represent  us.  He  has  traded  away  our  rights,  he  has  sold 
our  lands,  and  there  is  no  help  for  us.  He  will  have  a  fine  house  built  for 
him  and  will  get  one  thousand  dollars  every  year,  and  he  and  his  people 
will  be  given  wagons  and  harnesses  and  many  cows.  Looploop  is  not  a 
beggar ;  he  has  never  asked  nor  received  any  help  from  the  government, 
nor  does  he  ask  it  now.  He  is  able  to  take  care  of  himself ;  and  all  that 
he  asks  is  to  be  let  alone.  When  Moses  came  back  from  Washington  the 
first  time,  there  was  a  great  council  between  the  whites  and  the  Indians. 
General  Howard  stood  up  in  the  midst  and  said:  '  The  Indians  have  for 
many  years  been  wanderers  from  place  to  place  and  there  has  been  no  rest 
for  any  of  them,  but  now  they  are  to  have  a  reservation  —  Moses — which 
will  be  a  home  for  them  forever.  While  the  mountains  stand  and  the 
rivers  run  the  land  is  to  be  theirs,  their  children's  and  their  children's 

children's  forever.' 
M— 24 


410 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


IXDIAX  WEAPONS. 


1.  Comanehe  Tomahawk. 

2.  Ute  Tomahawk  Pip?. 

8.  Bow  Case  and  Quiver  of  the  Bannock  Indians. 

4-5.  Sioux  War  Clubs. 

6-7-8.  Sioux  Bows  and  Arrows. 


9.  Comanehe  War  Shield. 
10-11.  Sioux  War  Clubs. 
12.  Comanehe  Tomahawk  Pipe. 

18.  Tomahawk    Pipe  which    once    belonged    to    Littl» 
Bear,  a  prominent  chief  of  the  Northern  Apaches 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  411 

"  The  Indians  heard  ;  they  believed  and  were  satisfied.  Scarcely  four 
years  have  passed  by  and  we  are  told  that  we  must  leave  this  reservation, 
this  land  which  was  to  be  our  home  forever.  How  do  we  know  that  if  we 
move  to  the  Colville  reservation  we  will  be  left  in  peace  ?  Why  should  we 
not  be  driven  from  there  in  a  few  years,  and  then  what  can  we  do?  There 
is  no  other  place  left.  But  you  tell  us  that  we  who  do  not  recognize 
Moses  or  any  other  chief,  are  not  obliged  to  leave  our  home ;  that  you 
will  mark  out  for  each  of  us  a  square  mile  and  will  set  stakes  so  that  no 
white  man  can  take  the  land  away  from  us ;  and  you  wish  to  know 
whether  we  will  go  or  stay.  There  are  but  few  of  us  here,  and  our  blood 
is  the  same,  but  our  minds  are  different.  As  for  me,  why  should  I  go? 
Here  I  have  a  house,  and  fields  that  raise  oats  and  hay  and  all  kinds  of 
vegetables.  When  white  men  pass  through  here  they  need  these  things 
and  pay  me  for  them.  Did  you  not,  yesterday,  give  me  $25  for  one  thou- 
sand pounds  of  oats?  With  money  in  my  pocket,  I  feel  that  I  am  a  man, 
and  respect  myself.  Why  should  I  give  up  all  this,  and  move  on  the 
Colville  reservation,  to  become  a  wild  Indian  again?  But  I  am  getting  an 
old  man  now.  My  daughter  is  married  and  has  children.  I  love  them, 
and  like  to  be  with  them  ;  but  my  son-in-law  thinks  he  will  go  on  the 
Colville  reservation.  My  only  son  has  two  sons ;  sometimes  he  thinks  he 
will  go,  and  again  he  thinks  he  will  stay.  Our  hearts  are  sad,  and  we 
know  not  what  to  do.  You  must  give  us  time  to  think  and  talk  among 
ourselves,  and  we  will  then  tell  you  whether  we  will  go  or  stay.  But  we 
cannot  tell  you  to-day,  or  to-morrow,  or  for  many  days  to  come.  Leave 
us  now,  and  return  after  we  have  had  time  to  think  ;  we  will  then  know 
our  minds,  and  what  we  say  we  will  do." 

Eventually,  though  onlj'  after  much  indecision,  the  Indians  concerned 
in  the  matter  all  yielded,  and  the  treaty  went  into  full  effect.  But  a  long 
period  elapsed  before  the  government  completely  fulfilled  its  part  of  the 
agreement.  Nevertheless,  there  was  a  marked  improvement  almost 
immediately.  In  1885,  when  Captain  Baldwin  once  more  visited  the 
valley  of  the  Okinakane,  where,  in  1883,  he  had  found  only  half  a  dozen 
farms,  there  were  hundreds  of  acres  fenced  and  under  cultivation,  almost 
every  available  spot  on  the  river  and  its  tributaries  was  occupied,  and 
large  herds  of  domestic  stock  belonging  to  the  Indians  were  grazing  on 
the  hills. 

In  1885  I  at  last  succeeded  in  having  the  remnant  of  Chief  Joseph's 
band  of  Nez  Perce  Indians  brought  back  from  the  Indian  Territory  to  the 
vicinity  of  their  old  home,  as  stated  in  a  preceding  chapter.  Popular 


412  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

feeling  in  Idaho  Territory  was  decidedly  against  them.  Several  Nez  Perce 
warriors  were  under  indictment  for  murders  perpetrated  in  1877,  and  as 
there  had  been  rumors  of  threats  of  violence  on  the  part  of  some  of  the 
white  people,  every  precaution  was  taken  to  prevent  collision  between  them 
and  the  Nez  Perces  while  the  latter  were  on  their  way  back  to  the  North- 
west. The  Nez  Perces  entered  the  Department  of  the  Columbia  in  June 
by  way  of  the  Union  Pacific  and  Oregon  Short  Line  Railways,  and  were 
met  at  Pocatello  by  Captain  Frank  Baldwin,  who  was  then  acting  judge 
advocate  of  that  department. 

After  their  arrival  they  were  divided  into  two  parties,  one  proceeding 
under  military  escort  to  the  Lapwai  agency  in  Idaho,  and  the  other, 
including  Chief  Joseph,  to  the  Colville  reservation  opposite  Fort  Spokane. 
The  Indians  who  were  taken  to  the  Lapwai  agency  numbered  one  hundred 
and  sixteen  persons,  who  soon  disappeared  among  their  relatives  and 
friends.  Upon  their  arrival  thirty  days  rations  were  supplied  them,  but 
after  that  they  were  self  supporting  with  the  exception  of  a  few  of  the 
aged.  Some  of  them  afterward  showed  a  desire  to  visit  their  old  haunts 
in  the  Wallowa  Valley,  but  readily  acquiesced  when  told  that  it  was  not 
advisable  for  them  to  do  so.  Altogether,  their  conduct  was  most  peaceful 
and  satisfactory. 

That  portion  of  the  band  immediately  under  Chief  Joseph,  numbering 
one  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  was  in  a  most  destitute  condition,  and 
many  of  them  must  have  starved  if  the  military  had  not  come  to  their 
assistance.  They  were  poorly  clad,  and  were  obliged  to  live  in  thin  cotton 
tents.  They  had  no  cattle,  tools  or  implements  of  any  kind,  those  left 
behind  in  the  Indian  Territory  not  having  been  replaced.  Both  Chief 
Joseph  and  those  under  him  showed  every  disposition  to  make  homes  for 
themselves,  to  settle  down  and  live  like  white  people,  and  to  conform  to 
every  requirement  of  the  government. 

The  tribe  of  Nez  Perces  was  originally  a  confederacy  of  numerous  bands, 
each  with  its  own  chief.  Primarily  the  tribe  occupied  a  large  extent  of  terri- 
tory west  of  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains  in  Washington,  Idaho  and  Oregon, 
their  title  running  back  to  a  time  before  the  memory  of  man.  In  June, 
1855,  a  treaty,  which  I  have  alluded  to  in  a  previous  chapter,  was  concluded 
between  the  United  States  and  the  Nez  Perces,  by  the  terms  of  which  a 
large  part  of  their  country  was  ceded  to  the  United  States,  the  Wallowa 
Valley  being  embraced  within  the  land  reserved.  Several  chiefs  protested 
against  this  treaty,  and  Looking  Glass  and  the  father  of  Joseph  signed  it 
much  against  their  will.  In  this,  as  in  many  other  cases  where  an  Indian 


MAJOR-GENERAL  GEORGE   CROOK. 


MAJOR-GENERAL   ALFRED    H.    TERRY.-SEE  PAGE  196. 


(413) 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


415 


treaty  is  concerned,  its  terms  were  not  kept  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States.  In  1863,  another  treaty  was  negotiated  which  greatly  reduced  the 
reservation  established  by  the  treaty  of  1855,  and  among  the  lands  yielded 
in  this  case  the  Wallowa  Valley  was  included.  A  number  of  the  chiefs 
refused  to  sign  this  treaty,  and  would  never  afterward  recognize  it  as 
binding,  but  always  repudiated  it,  refusing  to  accept  any  of  its  benefits. 

These  bitter  feelings  finally  culminated  in  the  Nez  Perce  war,  by 
which  a  tribe  of  Indians  that  had  always  made  the  proud  boast  that  no 
white  man  was  ever  slain  by  the  hand  of  a  Nez  Perce,  were  driven  to 
open  hostilities,  resulting  in  a  serious  war  between  the  Nez  Perces  and  the 
troops  of  General  Howard  in  Idaho,  a  series  of  engagements  between  the 
Nez  Perces  and  troops  under  General  Gibbon  in  western  Montana,  and  the 
pursuit  and  capture  of  the  Nez  Perces  by  troops  under  my  command  as 
related  in  a  preceding  chapter  of  this  volume,  and  their  final  return,  eight 
years  later,  reduced  in  numbers  and  in  a  wretched  condition,  to  their 
country  where  they  have  since  peacefully  remained. 


416 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

OUR  ALASKAN  POSSESSIONS. 

DISCOVERY  OF  ALASKA  BY  BEHRIXG —  THE  FUR  HUNTERS  —  THE  RUSSIAN  COMPANIES  AND  THEIR 

SUCCESSOR  —  SALE  OF  THE  COUNTRY  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  —  THE  TRANSFER — VAST  SIZE 

OF    ALASKA — CLIMATE  —  MOUNTAINS  —  MOUNT     ST.     ELIAS  —  GLACIERS — MUIR 

GLACIER  —  EXPEDITION   OF  LIEUTENANT  SCHWATKA  —  CHARACTER  OF  THE 

NATIVES  —  THEIR    BOATS  —  EXPEDITION     OF    LIEUTENANT  ABER- 

CROJIBIE  —  THE    COPPER    RIVER    COUNTRY  —  SEALS  AND 

THEIR  ROOKERIES  —  SALMON,  AND  THE  CANNING 

INDUSTRY — BRITISH   STRENGTH    ix    THE 

NORTHWEST  TERRITORY. 

EHRING'S  famous  voyage  and  the  discovery  of  Alaska  is  the 
history  of  a  series  of  privations  and  disasters.  He  set  sail 
from  Okhotsk  in  1740,  in  a  vessel  called  the  "St  Paul."  He 
sighted  and  named  the  magnificent  mountain  St.  Elias. 
Behring  was  finally  wrecked  on  an  island  which  now  bears 
his  name,  and  died  there  December  8,  1741,  without  ever  at- 
taining any  benefit  from  his  valuable  discoveries.  The  vessel 
was  little  more  than  a  wreck,  but  out  of  its  ruins  the  crew 
managed  to  build  a  little  shallop  in  which  they  set  sail  on  the  16th  of 
August,  1742.  They  finally  reached  civilization  bearing  with  them  a  large 
number  of  valuable  peltries,  which  stimulated  the  prompt  fitting  out  of 
many  new  expeditions  for  Alaska. 

These  fur  hunters  ventured  out  from  their  headquarters  at  Kamchatka 
and  by  1769  a  large  area  of  Russian  America  was  well  known  to  them. 
Prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  control  of  the  Russian  American  Com- 
pany over  the  whole  of  Alaska,  more  than  sixty  distinct  Russian  trade 
companies  had  been  organized  and  had  plied  their  vocation  in  these  waters. 
In  1799  this  last  named  company  received  a  charter  which  conferred  upon 
it  very  great  privileges,  but  also  burdened  it  with  many  obligations.  It 
was  obliged  to  maintain  at  its  own  expense  the  new  government  of  the 
country,  a  church  establishment,  a  military  force,  and  at  many  points  in 
the  country  magazines  of  provisions  and  stores  to  be  used  by  the  Imperial 
government  for  its  naval  vessels. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  417 

As  time  wore  on  it  was  found  that  Russian  America  did  not  prove  as 
profitable  to  the  home  government  as  it  ought,  and  in  1844  the  Emperor 
Nicholas  offered  to  sell  the  whole  country  to  the  United  States  for  the 
mere  cost  of  transfer  if  President  Pierce  would  maintain  the  United  States 
line  at  54°  40'  and  shut  England  out  from  any  frontage  on  the  Pacific.  In 
1854  it  was  again  offered  to  the  United  States,  and  yet  again  in  1859,  but 
with  no  result.  But  in  1867  Secretary  Seward  effected  the  purchase 
of  the  whole  vast  territory  at  the  rate  of  about  half  a  cent  an  acre. 
Figures  show  that  from  the  very  beginning  Alaska  has  been  to  us  a 
paying  investment.  The  first  lease  of  the  two  seal  islands  returned  into 
the  treasury  a  sum  equal  to  the  purchase  money  ($7,200,000).  The  gold 
mines  have  since  added  an  equal  sum  to  the  wealth  of  the  world,  while 
the  salmon  fisheries  in  the  six  years  from  1884  to  1890  yielded  $7,500,000. 

As  soon  as  the  treaty  was  ratified,  immediate  military  possession  was 
decided  upon.  The  commissioners  on  behalf  of  both  the  United  States 
and  Russia,  met  at  Sitka  in  October,  1869.  Three  men-of-war  and  two 
hundred  and  fifty  troops  were  present  on  the  afternoon  when  the  Russians 
joined  the  United  States  officers  at  the  foot  of  the  government  flagstaff. 
Double  national  salutes  were  fired  by  the  men-of-war  and  a  land  battery 
as  the  Russian  national  flag  was  lowered  and  the  American  flag  was  raised. 
As  soon  as  the  United  States  took  possession  of  Alaska  all  the  Russian  in- 
habitants who  were  able  to  travel  left  the  country,  their  government 
giving  them  free  transportation. 

In  1877  the  last  garrison  in  Alaska  was  vacated,  and  a  few  months  later 
the  Indians  had  destroyed  all  government  property  outside  the  stockades, 
and  threatened  a  massacre.  Hearing  of  the  desperate  plight  of  the 
Americans  the  captain  of  an  English  ship  which  happened  to  be  at  Esqui- 
mault  at  the  time,  hastened  to  their  assistance,  and  remained  until  a 
United  States  revenue  cutter  and  a  man-of-war  arrived. 

Alaska  is  nine  times  the  size  of  New  England,  twice  the  size  of  Texas, 
and  three  times  as  large  as  California.  It  stretches  for  more  than  a  thou- 
sand miles  from  north  to  south,  and  the  Aleutian  Islands  encroach  upon 
the  eastern  hemisphere,  placing  the  geographical  center  of  the  United 
States  on  the  point  midway  between  the  eastern  and  western  extremities 
a  little  to  the  west  of  San  Francisco.  The  island  of  Attu  is  two  thousand 
miles  west  of  Sitka,  and  it  is  as  far  from  Cape  Fox  to  Point  Barrow  as  from 
the  north  of  Maine  to  the  southern  extremity  of  Florida.  The  coast  line 
has  a  length  of  more  than  18,000  miles ;  greater  than  that  of  all  the  States 
bordering  on  the  Atlantic,  the  Pacific  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  combined. 


418  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

The  climate  and  physical  features  of  southeastern  Alaska  very  much 
resemble  those  of  southern  Norway.  While  St.  Johns,  Newfoundland,  is 
surrounded  by  icebergs  in  summer  and  its  harbor  is  frozen  solid  in  winter, 
Sitka,  ten  degrees  farther  north,  has  always  an  open  roadstead.  The 
thermometer  rarely  registers  in  winter  as  low  as  ten  degrees  below  zero. 
It  is  the  isothermal  equal  of  the  District  of  Columbia  and  Kentucky,  skat- 
ing being  a  rare  sport  for  Sitkans.  When  William  H.  Seward  was  making 
his  trip  around  the  world  he  wrote  from  Berlin:  "We  have  seen  enough  of 
Germany  to  know  that  its  climate  is  neither  so  genial,  nor  its  soil  so  fertile, 
nor  its  resources  in  forests  and  mines  so  rich  as  those  of  southern  Alaska." 
The  lofty  mountain  ranges  and  the  Japan  Current  give  southeastern  Alaska 
a  greater  rainfall  than  that  of  Norway,  the  annual  rainfall  in  Sitka  aver- 
aging eighty-one  inches.  There  have  been  wet  seasons  there  in  which 
there  were  respectively  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  and  three  hundred 
and  forty  rainy  days  ;  but  all  this  moisture  favors  a  luxuriant  vegetation 
and  keeps  the  foliage  fresh  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year. 

Thunder  storms  are  almost  unknown,  and  there  are  beautiful  auroral 
illuminations  during  the  long  winter  nights.  There  have  been  only  two 
great  hurricanes  since  the  transfer  of  the  country,  one  occurring  immedi- 
ately after  that  event  and  the  other  in  1880.  Fine  grass  springs  naturally 
on  any  clearing  ;  coarser  grasses  grow  three  or  four  feet  high,  and  clover 
thrives  unheeded.  Hay  has  been  cured  there  since  as  early  as  1805,  and 
some  varieties  of  vegetables  have  been  raised.  In  summer  there  is  usually 
about  a  fortnight  of  really  very  warm  weather,  and  the  days  at  that  time 
of  year  are  eighteen  hours  long. 

The  greater  part  of  Alaska  is  exceedingly  mountainous.  The  most 
celebrated  of  all  her  lofty  summits  is  Mount  St.  Elias,  the  central  peak  of 
a  crescent-shaped  range  of  mountains  on  the  southern  coast  of  Alaska. 
This  mountain  lifts  its  glittering  white  head  more  than  19,000  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  whole  of  this  great  peak  is  not  often 
seen  at  one  time,  as  a  perfectly  clear  atmosphere  is  very  rare  in  that  region. 
The  vapor  from  the  warm  ocean  current  is  condensed  into  clouds  as  it 
strikes  the  frozen  sides  of  the  mountain,  keeping  it  perpetually  cloud- 
capped.  Its  summit  is  a  bold  pyramid  placed  on  a  rugged  mountain  mass, 
and  surrounded  by  foot-hills  each  one  of  which  is  of  sufficient  size  to  be 
widely  noted  were  it  in  any  country  where  colossal  peaks  are  not  so  com- 
mon. The  mountain  can  be  distinctly  seen  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  at 
sea,  and  at  that  distance  it  appears  to  tower  up  with  all  the  grandeur  and 
beauty  that  ordinary  mountains  have  when  viewed  from  a  short  distance. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  419 

Some  of  the  most  magnificent  glaciers  to  be  found  on  the  globe  fill  the 
gorges  of  the  Alaskan  mountain  ranges.  The  Malaspine  Glacier  is  one  of 
the  largest  known.  It  is  one  vast,  slowly-moving  prairie  of  ice,  and  from 
the  mountain  spurs  projecting  into  it  one  may  look  down  upon  it  from  a 
height  of  two  or  three  thousand  feet  without  being  able  to  discover  its 
southern  limits.  The  outer  border  is  covered  with  earth  and  supports  a 
dense  growth  of  vegetation,  and  in  some  places  thick  forests  of  spruce 
trees.  These  evergreen  forests,  with  undergrowths  of  ferns  and  flowers, 
growing  on  living  glaciers  hundreds  of  feet  thick,  are  among  the  most 
interesting  features  of  Alaska.  The  entire  region  is  remarkable  for  the 
glaciers  which  abound  in  the  valleys  and  along  the  coasts.  The  Muir 
Glacier  at  Glacier  Bay  is  one  of  the  best  known,  its  face  being  a  solid  wall 
of  ice,  two  miles  wide.  Another  glacier  situated  on  the  Stickine  River  is 
forty  miles  long  and  five  miles  wide.  The  Miles  Glacier,  so  named  by 
Lieutenant  Abercrombie,  who  discovered  it  during  his  exploration  of  the 
Copper  River  country,  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  interesting  of  these 
wonders  of  nature. 

Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  these  colossal  glaciers  by  imagining  a 
valley  between  two  ranges  of  mountains  packed  solidly  with  ice,  formed 
from  the  packed  and  semi-liquid  snow  of  mountains  from  forty  to  fifty 
miles  back  from  the  rivers  or  bays  into  which  the  glaciers  empty.  Although 
actually  in  constant  motion,  the  movement  is  so  slow  that  it  is  imper- 
ceptible except  from  final  results.  The  continual  fall  at  the  end  of  the 
glacier  of  masses  of  ice  from  the  size  of  a  man's  hand  to  that  of  a  block 
acres  in  extent,  produces  a  noise  like  the  constant  roar  of  thunder,  and  is 
frequently  heard  eight  or  ten  miles  away.  The  glaciers  that  empty  into 
bays  and  navigable  rivers  produce  icebergs  that  are  usually  four  or  five 
times  as  deep  below  the  surface  of  the  water  as1  they  are  above.  These 
masses  of  ice  are  forced  back  against  the  faces  of  the  glaciers  when  the 
tide  is  coming  in,  and  are  held  there  firmly  until  it  goes  out,  when  they 
again  go  rolling  on  their  course  to  the  sea.  As  the  huge  masses  fall  from  the 
face  of  the  glacier  they  produce  a  motion  of  the  water  which  is  sometimes 
dangerous  to  vessels  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  and  when  the  ice  floe  is 
moving  out  with  the  tide  it  sometimes  becomes  necessary  for  steamers 
to  seek  shelter  behind  some  promontory. 

The  beauty  and  grandeur  of  these  scenes  is  equal  to  anything  that  I 
ever  witnessed.  There  is  only  one  feature  of  nature  that  compares  with 
it  in  grandeur,  although  of  an  entirely  different  character,  and  that  is  the 
geysers  in  the  Yellowstone  Valley.  During  our  visit  to  Alaska  it  required 


420 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


twenty-four  days  going  and  returning,  the  distance  being  a  thousand 
miles  each  way.  Now  the  journey  can  be  made  in  fourteen  days,  and  even 
this  time  will  be  lessened  as  better  facilities  for  travel  are  afforded. 

In  the  year  1883  there  were  frequent  reports  of  disturbances  of  the 
peace  between  the  whites  and  Indians  in  Alaska  which  seemed  to  indicate 
that  there  might  be  serious  hostilities  between  the  two  elements  in  the 
near  future.  Although  the  Territory  was  included  within  the  geographical 
limits  of  the  Department  of  Columbia,  its  area  of  nearly  six  hundred  thou- 
sand square  miles  was  practically  an  unexplored  and  unknown  country, 


but  little  acquaintance  having  been 
features,  the  number  and  character 
or  climate.     Deeming  further  infor- 
exceedingly     desirable,     in 
aides-de-camp,     Lieutenant 
United     States   Cavalry,    a 
gether  with  Assistant-Sur- 
ical  Assistant  Homan    and 
obtain    intelligence    of  the 
us  in  the  case  of  any  serious 

Frederick 
born  at  Galena, 
tember,  1849. 
pointed  to  the 
emy  from  Ore- 
ated  at  West 
after  which  he 


made  with  its  topographical 
of  its  inhabitants,  its  resources 
mation  in  these  respects  to  be 
April,  1883,  I  sent  one  of  my 
Frederick    Schwatka,     Third 
distinguished     explorer,      to- 
geon  Wilson  and  Topograph- 
three    soldiers,  to  Alaska   to 
country  that  might  be  of  use  to 
disturbance. 
Schwatka   was 
Illinois,  in  Sep- 
He   was   a p - 
Military  Acad- 
gon  and  gradu- 
Point  in   1871, 


T.--T        studied  law,  be- 

ingadmitted  to  '-*&* ^    S5^g^  the  bar  in  1875. 

He    then   took  up  the  study  of 

,  .     .  ALASKAN  TOTEM.  .    .         ,  .       ., 

medicine,  re-  ceiving  his  de- 

gree in  New  York  in  1876.  He  was  in  command  of  the  Franklin  expedition 
which  sailed  for  the  Arctic  regions  in  1878,  and  which  succeeded  in  finding 
many  relics  and  evidences  of  the  fate  of  Sir  John  Franklin's  party,  during 
its  two  years'  absence.  He  afterward  led  various  other  exploring  expedi- 
tions and  has  written  many  interesting  books  and  articles  concerning 
his  travels.  His  death,  which  occurred  a  few  years  ago,  was  a  severe  loss  to 
the  scientific  world. 

Lieutenant  Schwatka  and  his  party  left  Portland,  Oregon,  on  May -22, 
1883,  arriving  at  Pyramid  Harbor  in  Chilcat  Inlet  early  in  June.  The 
instructions  of  Lieutenant  Schwatka  were  to  "  endeavor  to  complete  all 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  421 

information  in  each  section  of  country  before  proceeding  to  another,  in 
order  that  if  time  should  not  permit  the  full  completion  of  the  work,  it 
may  be  taken  up  the  following  season,"  and  he  accordingly  selected  the 
valley  of  the  Yukon  River  as  the  district  most  important  in  the  Territory. 
This  great  river  rises  in  British  Columbia  at  a  point  about  two  hundred 
miles  northeast  of  Sitka,  and  forming  the  arc  of  a  huge  circle  over  two 
thousand  miles  in  length,  enters  Behring  Sea  through  an  extensive  delta. 
The  volume  of  water  which  it  pours  into  the  sea  is  so  great  as  to  freshen 
the  ocean  ten  miles  from  its  mouth. 

The  difficulties  that  had  been  experienced  by  others  in  exploring  the 
Yukon  from  its  mouth,  led  Lieutenant  Schwatka  to  believe  that  it  might 
be  easier  to  descend  than  to  ascend,  and  he  made  his  preparations  with 
this  end  in  view.  He  finally  decided  to  make  the  attempt  to  reach  its 
headwaters  by  way  of  the  Chilcoot  trail  which  leads  up  the  inlet  of  the 
same  name,  to  a  branch  called  the  Dayay,  then  through  this  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Dayay  River,  thence  to  its  head,  and  thence  across  the  mountains 
to  Lake  Lindeman.  Here  they  stopped  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  raft 
on  which  to  descend  the  river.  After  the  completion  of  this,  they  passed 
through  several  other  lakes  and  their  connecting  streams,  reaching  Lake 
Marsh  on  the  29th  of  June.  This  is  a  body  of  water  nearly  thirty  miles  long, 
but  filled  with  mud  banks  from  one  end  to  the  other,  making  it  extremely 
difficult  to  navigate  even  on  a  raft.  From  Lake  Marsh  they  entered  the 
Yukon  River  and  on  July  1,  found  themselves  approaching  the  grand  canon 
of  the  Yukon.  This  is  the  only  large  canon  in  the  entire  length  of  the  great 
river,  and  was  named  by  Schwatka  after  the  department  commander.  The 
river,  which  before  reaching  this  point  is  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
in  width  here  begins  to  grow  narrower,  until  it  is  hardly  more  than  thirty- 
five  yards  wide.  The  walls  of  the  canon  are  of  perpendicular  basalt  nearly 
a  mile  in  height,  being  widened  in  the  center  into  a  huge  basin  about 
double  the  usual  width  of  the  stream  in  the  canon,  and  this  basin  is  full 
of  whirlpools  and  eddies  in  which  nothing  but  a  fish  could  live.  Through 
this  canon  the  wild  waters  rush  in  a  perfect  mass  of  foam,  with  a  rever- 
beration that  can  be  heard  a  considerable  distance  away.  Overhanging  the 
canon  are  huge  spruce  trees  standing  in  gloomy  rows.  At  the  northern 
end  the  water  spreads  rapidly  to  its  former  width  although  not  losing 
any  of  its  swiftness,  and  falls  in  a  wide,  shallow  sheet  over  reefs  of  boulders 
and  drifts  of  huge  timber.  About  four  miles  further  down,  the  river  grows 
narrower  than  ever,  and  the  volume  of  water  is  so  great  that  it  ascends 
the  sloping  banks  to  a  considerable  height  and  then  falls  back  into  the 


422  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

narrow  bed  below.  The  shooting  of  the  canon  and  rapids  was  an  exciting 
adventure,  and  I  will  give  Lieutenant  Schwatka's  experience  in  his  own  words. 

"  Everything  being  in  readiness,  our  inspection  made  and  our  resolution 
formed,  in  the  forenoon  of  the  2d  of  July,  we  prepared  to  shoot  the 
raft  through  the  rapids  of  the  grand  canon,  and  at  11:25  the  bow  and  stern 
lines  were  cast  loose,  and  after  a  few  minutes'  hard  work  at  shoving  the 
craft  out  of  the  little  eddy  where  she  lay,  the  poor  vessel  resisting  as  if  she 
knew  all  that  was  ahead  of  her  and  was  loath  to  go,  she  finally  swung  clear 
of  the  point,  and  like  a  racer  at  the  start,  made  almost  a  leap  forward,  and 
the  die  was  cast.  A  moment's  hesitation  at  the  canon's  brink,  and  quick 
as  a  flash  the  whirling  craft  plunged  into  the  foam,  and  before  twenty 
yards  were  made  had  collided  with  the  western  wall  of  the  columnar  rock 
with  a  shock  as  loud  as  a  blast,  tearing  off  the  inner  side  log  and  throwing 
the  outer  one  far  into  the  stream.  The  raft  swung  around  this  as  upon  a 
hinge,  just  as  if  it  had  been  a  straw  in  a  gale  of  wind,  and  again  resumed 
its  rapid  career.  In  the  whirlpool  basin  of  the  canon,  the  craft,  for  a  brief 
second  or  two,  seemed  actually  buried  out  of  sight  in  the  foam.  Had  there 
been  a  dozen  giants  on  board  they  could  have  had  no  more  influence  in 
directing  her  course  than  as  many  spiders.  It  was  a  very  simple  matter 
to  trust  the  rude  vessel  entirely  to  fate,  to  work  out  its  own  salvation.  I 
was  most  afraid  of  the  four  miles  of  shallow  rapids  below  the  canon,  but 
she  only  received  a  dozen  or  a  score  of  smart  bumps  that  started  a  log 
here  and  there,  but  tore  none  from  the  structure,  and  nothing  remained 
ahead  of  her  but  the  cascades.  These  reached,  in  a  few  minutes  the  craft 
was  caught  at  the  bow  by  the  first  high  wave  in  the  funnel-like  chute  and 
lifted  into  the  air  until  it  stood  almost  at  an  angle  of  thirty  degrees,  when  it 
went  through  the  cascades  like  a  charge  of  fixed  bayonets,  and  almost  as 
swiftly  as  a  flash  of  light,  burying  its  nose  in  the  foam  beyond  as  it 
subsided.  Those  on  board  the  raft  now  got  hold  of  a  line  from  their 
friends  on  shore,  and  after  breaking  it  several  times  they  finally  brought 
the  craft  alongside  the  bank  and  commenced  repairing  the  damage  with 
light  hearts,  for  our  greatest  obstacle  was  now  at  our  backs." 

At  various  intervals  below  the  canon  a  number  of  large  rivers  flow  into 
the  Yukon,  greatly  increasing  its  width.  On  the  12th  of  July  they  shot 
the  Rink  Rapids,  the  last  rapids  of  importance  on  the  river,  and  the 
next  day  reached  the  site  of  old  Fort  Selkirk,  a  trading  post  of  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  which  was  burned  in  1851  by  a  party  of  Indians  because  it 
interfered  with  their  trade  with  other  tribes.  This  was  an  important  point 
on  the  Yukon,  as  above  it  the  river  had  never  before  been  explored. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


423 


From  Fort  Selkirk  they  went  on  down  the  river,  passing  a  number  of 
Indian  villages  and  old  Fort  Yukon,  which  had  been  abandoned  several 
years  before,  and  on  August  10,  drifted  by  the  spot  known  as  "the  rapids 
of  the  Yukon"  which  they  had  been  dreading  for  some  time,  and  which 
they  feared  might  prove  disastrous  to  their  rough  means  of  naviga- 
tion. It  was  not  until  they  had  passed  them  that  they  observed  the 
rapids  at  all,  as  they  consisted  of  nothing  but  a  bar  of  white  boulders 
around  which  the  water  flowed  as  placidly  as  around  any  bar  in  the  river. 
Some  distance  below  these  rapids  they  met  a  small  steamer,  one  of  the 
three  that  then  comprised  the  entire  steam  fleet  on  the  river.  Not  long 
afterward  they  were  overtaken  by  another  steamer,  the  "  Yukon,"  which 
took  them  in  tow  as  far  as  St.  Michaels,  where  they  arrived  on  the  30th  of 
August.  During  this  reconnoissance  much  valuable  information  was 
obtained  regarding  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  the  whole  number 
belonging  to  the  various  tribes  observed  by  the  expedition  aggregating 
over  eleven  thousand. 

Lieutenant  Schwatka's  exploration  was  one  of  exceeding  interest  and 
value,  adding  a  very  important  chapter  of  information  about  that  remote 
country.  The  territory  he 
passed  over,  however,  had  not 
been  entirely  untraversed  by 
prospectors  and  miners,  as  a 
few  of  those  adventurous  spir- 
its had  previously  penetrated 
that  country  in  search  of  gold 
and  other  minerals.  Schwatka 
describes  the  country  as  of  lit- 
tle value  except  for  its  fisheries 
and  minerals.  The  summers 
along  the  Yukon  Valley  are  of 
very  short  duration,  and  the 
country  is  so  infested  with 
mosquitoes  as  to  make  life 
there  almost  intolerable  during 
that  season,  while  the  severity  of  its  winters — the  thermometer  often 
registering  sixty  degrees  below  zero  —  makes  it  an  equally  undesirable 
country  for  occupation  at  that  time  of  year. 

Schwatka  expresses  the  opinion  that  all  other  desirable  parts  of  the 
United  States  will  be  occupied  before  that  country  is  settled.  Nevertheless, 


GROUP  OF  ESKIMO  GIRLS. 


424 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


he  describes  the  natives  as  a  hardy,  brave  people,  and  most  expert  boat- 
builders.  Their  way  of  making  these  boats  is  very  rude  ;  burning  and 
hewing  out  great  trees,  which  are  then  fashioned  into  well-drawn  lines, 
making  excellent  boats  capable  of  carrying  thirty  or  forty  people  and  pro- 
pelled by  paddles  or  sails.  With  these  rude  crafts  they  do  not  hesitate  to 
go  out  into  the  open  sea  of  the  Pacific,  or  to  take  journeys  of  three  hundred 
miles  along  the  coast  outside  the  inland  passage. 

In  their  small  canoes  built  of  skins,  in  which  one  or  two  oarsmen  are 
lashed,  covered  with  water-tight,  thin  skin  garments,  they  go  out  into  the 
open  sea  to  attack  the  sea  otter,  which  is  the  most  valuable  fur-bearing 

animal  in  that  country. 
The  prows  of  these 
boats  are  built  of  such 
light  material  that  it  is 
impossible  to  keep  them 
under  water,  and  the 
water-proof  garments 
of  the  oarsmen  are  fast- 


ened in  such  a  way  that 
not  a  drop  can  penetrate 
the  interior  of  the  boat, 
even  though  it  should 
be  entirely  submerged 
or  turned  over  by  the  surf.  This  being  the  case,  when  the  canoe  is 
capsized,  as  occasionally  happens  in  passing  through  the  surf,  the 
light  prow  immediately  rights  itself  and  brings,  with  the  aid  of  the  skillful 
oarsman,  both  canoe  and  passengers  right  side  up  again,  and  without 
damage  to  either. 

Schwatka  found  these  native  races  among  the  hardiest  and  strongest  on 
the  continent.  All  his  baggage  had  to  be  carried  over  the  mountains  on 
the  backs  of  men  hired  for  that  purpose,  and  he  reports  that  they  could  take 
a  box  of  ammunition  or  supplies  weighing  a  hundred  pounds  and  go  up  the 
side  of  a  mountain  as  rapidly  as  an  ordinary  man  could  go  without  any 
burden.  One  of  their  races  that  I  witnessed,  near  Juno,  in  which  five  of 
their  largest  boats,  with  twelve  to  fifteen  men  in  each,  took  part,  was  as 
good  a  display  of  muscular  strength  and  activity  as  I  have  ever  seen. 

Desiring  to  gain  more  information  regarding  a  country  which  up  to  that 
time  had  been  wholly  unknown,  I  organized  a  similar  expedition,  in  charge 
of  Lieutenant  W.  F.  Abercrombie,  in  the  summer  of  1884,  to  explore  the 


NATIVE  KAYAKS. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  425 

Copper  River  region,  and,  if  possible,  the  Aleutian  range  of  mountains  and 
the  valley  of  the  Tanana.  A  party  of  Russians,  under  Seribriekob  from  the 
Russian  War  Department  had,  in  1848  compelled  the  natives  to  drag  their 
sledges  up  this  river.  At  a  preconcerted  signal  the  rebellious  Indians 
suddenly  attacked  and  massacred  the  entire  party.  From  that  time  no 
successful  expedition  had  been  made  up  the  Copper  River,  and  the  natives 
had  been  very  much  opposed  to  civilized  men  entering  their  country.  But 
Lieutenant  Abercrombie  found  them  inoffensive,  and  employed  them  to 
drag  his  boats  up  the  river.  The  currents,  however,  were  so  strong,  and 
he  experienced  so  much  difficulty  in  making  the  ascent,  beside  the  draw- 
back of  a  number  of  his  party  being  sick,  that  he  found  it  impossible  to  go 
as  far  as  he  intended.  He  did,  however,  accomplish  a  very  good  recon- 
noissance  and  exploration,  and  made  some  important  discoveries  as  to  the 
character  of  the  country,  obtaining  much  information  of  interest  and  value. 

Returning  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  in  December,  he  was  relieved  by 
Lieutenant  Allen,  whom  I  had  ordered  to  that  duty.  Lieutenant  Allen  left 
Portland,  Oregon,  January  29,  accompanied  by  Sergeant  Robinson  and 
Private  Pickett,  of  the  signal  corps.  The  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Mr. 
Chandler,  at  my  request,  had  very  kindly  sent  them  on  one  of  the  United 
States  gunboats  from  Sitka  to  the  mouth  of  Copper  River. 

After  a  long  but  unavoidable  delay  at  Sitka.  the  party  was  conveyed 
by  the  "Pinta"  to  Nuchek.  Although  the  "Pinta"was  only  a  fourth 
rate  man-of-war  with  a  very  small  armament,  she  made  a  great  impres- 
sion upon  the  natives.  One  of  them,  in  describing  her  proportions, 
estimated  her  length  as  equal  to  the  distance  between  two  designated 
islands,  which  were  really  about  half  a  mile  apart.  On  the  morning  of 
the  20th  of  March  the  party  left  Nuchek  for  the  mouth  of  the  Copper 
River,  but  experienced  great  difficulty  in  reaching  that  point  on  account 
of  grounding  so  often  in  the  mud  in  their  canoes,  and  being  continually 
exposed  to  a  driving  storm  of  sleet  and  rain. 

Lieutenant  Allen  here  took  up  his  exploration  late  in  the  winter,  start- 
ing in  January,  1885,  thus  having  the  advantage  of  passing  up  on  the  ice, 
the  difficult  portion  of  the  Copper  River,  where  Lieutenant  Abercrombie 
had  found  such  difficulty  in  dragging  his  boats  against  the  rapid  current. 
He  employed  the  natives  to  drag  his  sledges  in  his  further  ascent  of  the 
river  and  his  passage  over  the  Alaskan  mountains. 

During  the  whole  expedition  they  experienced  great  difficulty  in  ob- 
taining natives  for  transportation  purposes.  At  Alaganik,  a  point  on  the 
Copper  River,  they  could  find  only  six  men  available  for  that  purpose. 


426  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

These  men  would  promise  faithfully  to  go  at  one  moment  and  at  the  next 
refuse  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  expedition.  At  last,  in  order  to 
make  them  believe  that  it  was  a  great  favor  to  them  to  be  allowed  to  go 
at  all,  Lieutenant  Allen  decided  to  take  only  five,  and  made  them  draw 
lots  to  determine  who  should  be  unfortunate  enough  to  remain  behind. 
This  had  the  desired  effect,  though  he  would  have  been  glad  to  hire  ten 
men  instead  of  five. 

The  ascent  of  the  river  soon  became  extremely  difficult,  as  the  channel 
in  a  short  time  grew  so  shallow  that  they  could  not  use  their  canoes,  thus 
making  a  portage  necessary.  Taral,  of  which  they  had  heard  much  on 
their  way  up  the  river,  they  found  to  consist  of  but  two  houses,  one  of 
which  was  unoccupied.  Here  all  the  natives  but  one  either  deserted  or  were 
sent  back,  and  here  the  explorers  left  the  Copper  River  to  explore  one 
of  its  important  branches  called  the  Chittyna.  As  they  went  on,  their  food 
supply  became  so  low  that  on  Lieutenant  Allen's  birthday  they  could  cele- 
brate in  no  better  way  than  by  making  a  banquet  of  some  moose  meat  that 
had  been  left  by  the  natives  and  their  dogs  as  unfit  to  eat.  Afterward 
matters  grew  so  much  worse  that  they  would  have  been  glad  to  obtain 
even  that  delicacy. 

They  completed  their  exploration  of  the  Chittyna,  and  on  May  4,  once 
more  reached  Taral.  They  then  continued  their  way  up  the  Copper  River 
by  "  cordelling."  That  is,  two  men  remain  in  the  boat,  one  to  steer  and 
the  other  in  the  bow  with  a  long  pole;  the  remainder  of  the  party  pull  on 
the  rope  as  they  walk  along  the  shore.  From  Liebigstag's,  a  settlement  on 
the  river,  could  be  seen  a  magnificent  series  of  grand  peaks,  the  highest, 
Mount  Wrangell,  rising  more  than  seventeen  thousand  feet  above  the  sea 
level. 

On  the  5th  of  June  they  commenced  to  ascend  the  mountains  on  their 
way  to  the  Tanana,  whose  head  waters  lie  very  near  those  of  the  Copper, 
although  the  two  rivers  are  marked  by  such  entirely  different  characteristics. 
After  a  wearisome  journey,  as  they  climed  to  the  top  of  a  high  divide  four 
thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  they  suddenly  found 
themselves  in  full  view  of  their  promised  land.  In  front  of  them  lay  the 
TananaValley  with  its  numerous  lakes  and  low,  unbroken  ranges  of  moun- 
tains; a  scene  which  no  white  man  had  ever  looked  upon  before.  As  they 
went  on,  vegetation  began  to  be  rank,  and  they  suffered  from  the  heat  instead 
of  from  the  cold.  The  Tanana  is  a  muddy  river  full  of  quicksands  and  boil- 
ings, but  with  no  rocks,  and  the  spruce  trees  grow  down  to  its  very  edge. 
It  was  decided  to  descend  the  river  in  a  boat  made  of  skins,  and  in  this 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


427 


manner  the  voyage  was  made  in  spite  of  the  many  rapids  which  greatly 
increased  the  dangers  of  the  descent.  After  suffering  much  from  hunger 
and  weakness,  the  party  reached  the  Yukon,  into  which  the  Tanana 
empties  fifteen  hundred  miles  from  its  source.  They  then  explored  the 
Koyukuk,  another  tributary  of  the  Yukon,  for  some  distance,  after  which 

they    made    their  way    down r__ 

the  latter  river  as  rapidly  as 
the  means  at  their  disposal 
would  permit,  reaching  St. 
Michael's  on  August  29,  and 
thus  concluding  a  most  suc- 
cessful exploration,  though 
made  at  the  cost  of  much  priva- 
tion and  suffering.  Most  of 
the  people  they  met  on  the 
upper  Copper  and  Tanana  Riv- 
ers had  never  seen  white  men 
before,  and  much  interesting 
information  was  obtained  con- 
cerning them. 

The  principal  industries  of 
Alaska  at  present  are  the  fur 
trade,  mining,  and  the  curing 
ind  canning  of  fish.  The  value 
)f  the  Seal  Islands  was  not 
ippreciated  at  the  time  of 
their  transfer  to  this  country. 
In  1870,  the  Alaska  Commer 

,1  Company  of  San  Francisco 
)btained  a  twenty  years'  lease 
)f  the  islands  of  St.  Paul  and 

,-.  j  i     T         j  ,  SEAL      ROOKERY. 

t.  George,  and  are  believed  to 
lave  divided  from  $900,000  to  $1,000,000  profits  annually  between  twelve 
original  stockholders.     In  1890  another  twenty  years'  lease  was  awarded  the 

forth  American  Commercial  Company  of  San  Francisco  for  an  annual 

3ntal  of  $100,000. 

At  the  rookeries  the  seal  families  herd  in  little  groups  on  the  rocks, 
the  patriarch  staying  at  home  with  the  cubs,  while  the  mother  seal  swims 

ametimes  as  far  as  two  hundred  miles  daily  in  search  of  their  food.  These 

M— 25 


428  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

cubs  are  very  timid,  and  rush  into  the  water  on  hearing  any  strange  noise. 
The  toughness  of  the  cubs  is  somewhat  amusing.  If  anything  happens  to 
frighten  them  a  patriarch  weighing  several  hundred  pounds  will  often  flop 
and  tumble  over  a  whole  mass  of  them  apparently  without  injuring  one. 
Only  the  male  seals  from  two  to  four  years  of  age  are  killed.  These  "bach- 
elors" herd  alone,  and  the  aleuts,  running  between  them  and  the  water  in 
the  early  morning,  drive  them  slowly  to  the  killing  grounds,  where  they 
dispatch  them  by  a  blow  on  the  head. 

Salmon  is  the  most  important  fish,  but  halibut  and  herring  are  cured 
in  great  quantities.  At  Loring  a  fine  opportunity  is  presented  of  watching 
the  canning  of  salmon,  which  continues  from  June  to  September.  The 
outdoor  work  is  done  by  a  few  white  men,  with  sometimes  a  few  Indians 
employed  under  them.  Although  naturally  industrious  the  Tlingit  cannot 
be  depended  on,  as  he  is  very  apt  to  leave  without  warning  to  attend  to 
some  business  of  his  own  right  in  the  height  of  the  salmon  season.  But 
neither  the  white  man  nor  the  Indian  can  compete  with  the  Chinese  in  the 
skillful  manipulation  of  the  machines.  As  he  works  by  the  piece,  the 
Chinaman  takes  no  note  of  time  but  will  keep  the  machinery  going  as  long 
as  there  are  any  fish  left.  The  canneries  are  of  no  actual  benefit  to  the 
country,  as  they  drain  it  of  its  natural  wealth  and  in  return  result  in  no 
improvements  or  permanent  settlements. 

The  inhabitants  of  this  country  are  classed  as  Oranians  and  Indians,  the 
Esquimaux  belonging  to  the  former,  but  there  are  besides  numerous  and 
complicated  subdivisions.  The  Greek  church  was  early  established  in 
Alaska,  and  there  are  now  also  many  important  mission  stations  belonging 
to  the  Protestant  church.  Public  schools  have  been  in  operation  since  1886 
and  the  attendance  of  children  living  within  a  certain  limit  is  com- 
pulsory. 

Who  can  foretell  the  future  of  this  country  when  the  similarity  between 
its  people  and  the  ancient  Britons,  according  to  the  descriptions  handed 
down  to  us  is  remembered?  In  fact,  the  similarity  in  construction  of  their 
boats  and  of  those  described  by  the  companions  of  CaBsar  is  remarkable. 
Their  waters  are  filled  with  an  abundance  of  fish,  the  brain-producing  food. 
In  the  works  of  their  construction  — their  implements,  their  means  of  trans- 
portation, and  their  most  interesting  carving  in  wood,  copper  and  slate  — 
they  have  given  us  evidence  not  only  of  their  enterprise,  but  of  their  in- 
dustry and  great  ingenuity.  Should  the  country  be  occupied  by  civilized 
races  who  have  the  advantages  of  all  the  wonderful  modern  inventions  and 
implements,  Alaska  may  yet  play  an  important  part  in  the  great  future, 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  429 

and  the  development  of  the  resources  of  its  mines,  waters  and  forests  may 
one  day  contribute  largely  to  the  welfare  of  the  human  family. 

Coming  down  from  that  far  remote  region  we  passed  through  the  great 
zone  of  British  territory  which  that  government  has  so  tenaciously  held, 
and  the  ownership  of  which  was  for  so  long  a  time  the  subject  of  dispute 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  If  we  had  maintained  our 
position,  our  territory  would  be  now  increased  by  a  domain  of  great  value 
not  only  in  material  wealth  but  in  political  importance,  and  our  Pacific 
Coast  line  would  have  been  uninterrupted  from  California  to  Alaska.  But 
the  British  statesmen  have  with  consummate  diplomacy,  astute  manage- 
ment, tact  and  sagacity  utilized  this  territory  to  their  own  advantage. 
Their  possessions  stretching  across  the  continent,  divide  our  territory  into 
two  widely  separated  parts.  The  country  is  not  thickly  populated,  and 
will  not  be,  probably,  for  many  generations.  It  is  very  sparsely  settled 
indeed,  yet  the  vast  wealth  comprised  in  its  magnificent  forests,  rich 
agricultural  country  and  great  mineral  resources,  makes  it  a  valuable  and 
important  territory. 

The  British  have  subsidized  and  constructed  a  great  avenue  of  com- 
merce between  eastern  Canada  and  the  Pacific  Coast,  known  as  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railroad.  The  energy,  enterprise  and  skill  of  their  engineers,  con- 
tractors and  managers  in  that  great  work  are  most  commendable  to  the 
men  concerned.  They  claim  with  reason,  to  have  the  short  route  to  the 
Asiatic  trade.  It  is  estimated  that  the  distance  between  Hongkong  and 
Liverpool  by  that  route  is  nineteen  hundred  miles  shorter  than  it  would  be 
by  way  of  San  Francisco  and  New  York. 

Esquimault  is  one  of  the  best  and  most  sheltered  harbors  in  the  world. 
The  British  have  there  established  a  great  naval  station  and  have  con- 
structed a  navy  yard,  with  extensive  dry  docks,  costing  many  millions  of 
dollars.  They  have  laid  out  their  lines  of  fortifications  so  as  to  make  it 
one  of  the  strongholds  of  the  British  empire.  It  is  the  headquarters  of 
the  British  Pacific  squadron,  usually  under  the  command  of  a  British  ad- 
miral. It  is  not  unusual  to  see  there  a  fleet  of  British  war  ships  that  are 
equal  to,  if  not  larger  than  any  of  our  beautiful  white  squadron,  of 
which  we  are  so  proud,  and  so  confident  when  we  speak  of  its  prowess;  and 
it  is  far  from  uncommon  to  see  a  stronger  fleet  of  more  formidable  battle 
ships  under  the  flag  of  the  cross  of  St.  George  at  anchor  in  this  harbor  near 
Victoria  than  we  now  possess. 

The  morning  and  the  evening  gun  fired  at  the  navy  yard  near  Victoria 
is  heard  distinctly  at  Port  Townsend  and  along  Puget  Sound  and  the 


430 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


Straits  of  Fuca,  yet  the  United  States  has  not  a  single  battery  of  modern 
guns  in  position  to  protect  the  interests  and  commercial  wealth  of  that 
great  northwest  territory.  The  question  of  suitable  navy  yards,  dry  docks, 
depots  of  construction,  coast  defences,  and  other  matters  in  which  the 
United  States  should  be  interested,  has  been  to  a  great  extent  overlooked, 
and  should  be  a  matter  of  serious  consideration  in  the  near  future. 

Before  bidding  adieu  to  that  great  empire  of  the  Northwest  I  can  only 
consider  further  the  changes  that  occurred  under  my  observation  between 
the  years  1881  and  1885.  Four  years  is  certainly  a  brief  period,  yet  in  that 

short  time  the  Northwest  passed  through 
a  complete  transformation.     As  I  have 
said  in  the  early  chapters  on  this  sub- 
ject, we  came  up  the  coast  from  San 
Francisco.      During  the  four  years,   I 
saw  the  Northern  Pacific,that  great  ave- 
nue   of    commercial     communication, 
constructed  from  the  East  to  the  West 
with  all  its  various  branches  and  con- 
necting systems.    Next  to  that  was  con- 
structed what  was  known  as  the  Oregon 
Short  Line,  a  branch  of  the  Union  Pa- 
cific,  diverging  to  the  northwest  from 
Ogden,  Utah,  and  developing  a  great  ter- 
ritory through  Idaho  to  Oregon  and  the 
Columbia  River.     Then  was  constructed 
the  Coast   Line    south  from   Portland, 
ALASKAN  TOTEH.  Oregon,  along  the  old  stage  route  to  San 

Francisco  by  which  the  Central  Pacific  and  Southern  Pacific  were  connected 
with  that  great  northern  country.  Next  in  importance  was  the  great  inter- 
national line,  the  Canadian  Pacific,  built  under  the  auspices  of  the  Canadian 
government  and  supported  by  the  British  empire,  with  its  branch  line  down 
to  Puget  Sound  and  the  Columbia,  thus  giving  us  an  additional  line  of  com- 
munication to  the  east.  Then  with  marvelous  enterprise,  commencing  in  a 
small  bankrupt  line  of  road  out  from  St.  Paul,  that  enterprising  railroad  buil- 
der, Mr.  Hill,  continued  on  and  on,  constructing  his  roads  at  little  expense 
until  he  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  finally  found  a  terminus  on  the  Pa- 
cific Coast,  thus  giving  us  that  vast  system  now  known  as  the  Great  Northern. 
These  five  great  systems  of  railway  communication  that  were  con- 
structed principally,  though  not  entirely,  within  this  period  of  four  years, 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


431 


opened  to  the  world  the  vast  resources  of  a  country  capable  of  contributing 
so  largely  to  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  the  United  States ;  for  in  that 
country  are  natural  resources  capable  of  producing  all  that  is  required  by 
mankind.  There  are  its  immense  forests  of  gigantic  trees  affording  wealth 
and  employment  to  thousands ;  its  soil  of  unsurpassed  fertility,  capable  of 
producing  a  wonderful  variety  of  products,  and  making  possible  unbounded 
fields  of  waving  grain  and  prolific  orchards  of  delicious  fruits ;  its  mines 
of  gold  and  silver,  and  its  rich  deposits  of  coal  and  iron  so  essential  to  any 
country  desirous  of  excelling  in  manufactures;  its  great  commercial  advan- 
tages ;  its  wondrous  scenery,  varying  from  picturesque  and  rugged  mountain 
peaks  to  smiling,  fertile  valleys ;  and  to  crown  all  other  blessings,  its 
delightful  climate,  mild  in  winter,  free  from  tempests  in  summer,  and  so 
amazingly  invigorating  to  both  mind  and  body.  With  all  these,  and  count- 
less other  natural  advantages  there  seems  almost  no  limit  to  the  future 
possibilities  of  this  extraordinary  country. 


432  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 
FROM  INDIAN  TERRITORY  TO  ARIZONA. 

SITUATION  IN  THE  INDIAN  TERRITORY  IN  1885  —  THE  UTES  IN  NEW  MEXICO  AND  COLORADO  —  VISIT 

TO  THE  CHEYENNES  AND    ARAPAHOES  —  BEGINNINGS   OF  NEW  APACHE     TROUBLES  is 

ARIZONA  —  EARLY  ARIZONA,  AND  EARLIEST  EXPLORATIONS  —  ANCIENT  RUINS 

—  CHARACTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY  —  MIXES  —  POPULATION. 

N  this  chapter  it  will  be  necessary  to  revert  to  occurrences  fol- 
lowing my  transfer  from  the  command  of  the  Department  of  the 
Columbia  to  that  of  the  Missouri,  and  thence  to  that  of  Arizona. 
In  1885,  and  for  some  time  previous  to  that  year  there  had 
been  clashing  between  the  interests  of  the  Indians  in  the  Indian 
Territory   and  the  owners  of  the  immense  herds  of  cattle  that 
roamed  over  their  reservations.      This,   in  the  summer  of  1885, 
seemed  ready  to  ripen  into  open  hostilities.     A  large  part  of  the 
Territory  had  been  leased,  under  authority  of  the  government, 
fenced  in,  and  to  some  extent  stocked  with  cattle. 

On  account  of  this  authorized  occupation  of  the  Territory  by  white 
men  connected  with  the  cattle  interest,  a  large  number  were  either  perma- 
nently located  there  or  moving  back  and  forth  through  the  country  to 
attend  to  their  affairs.  It  also  gave  opportunity  for  a  large  number  of 
lawless  men  to  travel  about  the  Territory,  the  result  being  that  many 
disorderly  acts  were  committed  against  the  persons  and  property  of  the 
Indians.  This  created  a  feeling  of  discontent,  disaffection  and  hostility 
on  the  part  of  the  Indians  toward  the  white  people. 

As  a  result  of  these  disturbances,  in  July,  1885,  I  was  assigned  by  the 
President  to  the  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Missouri,  of  which 
department  the  Indian  Territory  formed  a  part,  and  one-fourth  of  the  army 
was  placed  at  my  disposal.  Under  telegraphic  orders  I  proceeded  from 
Vancouver,  Washington,  to  General  Sheridan's  headquarters,  Chicago,  and 
thence  to  the  Indian  Territory. 

Upon  investigation  I  found  that,  as  usual,  the  Indians  were  not  entirely 
in  the  wrong.  The  disaffected  Utes  in  northern  New  Mexico  and  Colorado 
were  in  a  most  desperate  state,  and  only  withheld  from  actual  outbreak 
by  the  presence  of  troops  in  their  midst.  Six  of  their  number  had  been 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


433 


murdered  by  lawless  white  men,  their  reservation  had  been  overrun  and 
their  game  destroyed.  They  were  nearly  starving,  their  daily  ration 
having  been  reduced  to  one-half  a  pound  of  beef  and  one-quarter  of  a 
pound  of  flour  for  each  Indian.  Happily  this  last  cause  of  discontent  was 

remedied  by  the  prompt  action  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior,  who  immediately  increased  the  food 
allowance.     The  hostile  Apaches  were   at   the 
same  time  threatening  the  frontier  of  south- 
ern New  Mexico,  and  it  was  necessary  to 
keep  troops  in  that  part  of  the  country 
to  guard  against  their  incursions. 
The   extensive  settlements  in 
southern  Kansas  also  made 
it  necessary  for  a  large 
body  of  troops  to  re- 
main in  that  vicinity 
for  their  protec- 
tion. Bad  as 
was  the 
state 


of  affairs 
in  the  Terri- 
tories adjacent 
to  the  Indian  Terri- 
t  o  r  y ,  the  conditions 
there  threatened  immedi- 
ate and    serious    hostility 
between    the   Indian  tribes 
and  the  white  people  living  in 
that  Territory  and  in  the  States 
of  Texas,  Kansas  and  Colorado. 


ARIZONA  VEGETATION-.  (GiAST  CACTUS). 

In  company  with  Lieutenant-General 
Sheridan  I  visited  the  Cheyenne  and  Arapahoe  reservations  and 
found  them  in  a  most  desperate  condition.  The  Indians  were  huddled 
together  in  disagreeble  camps,  and  were  entirely  beyond  the  control  of  the 
agent  and  his  Indian  police.  Two  of  their  prominent  men  had  been 
murdered,  and  they  were  turbulent,  disaffected,  and  on  the  verge  of  open 


434  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

hostilities.  As  is  usually  the  case  when  any  disturbance  occurs,  there  was 
a  large  number  of  white  men  with  no  visible  means  of  support  hovering 
about,  and  endeavoring  to  turn  the  turbulent  condition  of  affairs  to  their 
own  advantage. 

While  Lieutenant-General  Sheridan  listened  to  the  complaints  of  the 
Indians,  investigated  the  relationship  between  the  Indians  and  the  white 
people,  and  the  effect  produced  by  leasing  the  lands  to  white  men,  I  de- 
voted much  of  my  attention  to  the  condition  of  the  troops  and  their  proper 
equipment,  organization,  supplies,  means  of  transportation  and  everything 
that  was  required  to  put  them  in  proper  condition  for  active  campaigning 
in  case  United  States  troops  were  required.  Fortunately  I  had  known 
many  of  the  principal  Indians  as  a  result  of  the  campaign  of  1874-5  in  the 
southwest;  also  a  number  of  the  prominent  Cheyenne  Indians  had  sur- 
rendered to  me  in  Montana  in  1877  and  had  since  been  moved  down  to  the 
Indian  Territory.  These  were  sent  for  and  counseled  with,  and  I  was 
enabled  to  give  them  good  advice  which  they  heeded.  General  Sheridan 
had  also  met  many  prominent  warriors  in  1869  and  subsequently. 

The  threatening  condition  of  affairs  was  soon  changed.  The  President 
revoked  the  cattle  leases,  and  the  Indians  were  soon  brought  under  con- 
trol. A  very  efficient  officer,  Captain  Lee,  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
agency.  Under  his  able  administration  their  condition  rapidly  improved. 
One  hundred  and  thirty  of  the  most  active  and  restless  of  the  young  men 
were  enlisted  as  soldiers,  and  performed  good  service  under  the  command 
of  competent  officers.  In  addition  to  their  military  duties  they  were  re- 
quired to  cultivate  ground  enough  to  raise  all  the  vegetables  they  would 
require  during  the  year.  The  reservation  was  summarily  cleared  of  the 
lawless  white  men  who  infested  it  and  peace  and  confidence  were  once 
more  restored.  The  military  garrisons  were  increased,  and  affairs  speedily 
became  so  quiet,  that  the  large  bodies  of  troops  which  it  had  been  neces- 
sary to  call  from  other  departments  were  returned  to  their  proper  stations. 

As  the  tide  of  white  settlers  rolled  westward,  driving  the  Indians  before 
it,  the  idea  of  setting  apart  the  huge  block  of  country  known  as  the  Indian 
Territory,  where  the  scattered  tribes  of  Indians  could  be  congregated,  was 
at  the  time  a  good  one,  and  wise  and  judicious  in  every  respect.  But  in 
1885  the  Territory  had  outlived  its  usefulness,  and  served  merely  as  an  im- 
pediment in  the  pathway  of  progress.  Without  courts  of  justice  or  public 
institutions,  without  roads  or  bridges  or  railways,  it  was  nothing  more 
than  a  dark  blot  in  the  midst  of  a  great  and  progressive  country.  It  had 
naturally  become  the  refuge  of  outlaws  and  the  indolent  of  all  races  and 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  435 

classes,  and  the  vices  introduced  in  this  way  were  rapidly  destroying  the 
Indians.  Although  it  contained  land  sufficient  to  maintain  millions  of  en- 
lightened people,  it  was  actually  costing  the  government  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars  yearly  to  maintain  nearly  seventy-five  thousand 
Indians  who  made  it  their  home. 

Being  firmly  convinced  that  such  was  the  case,  I  could  do  no  less  than 
recommend  that  measures  should  be  taken  to  bring  about  a  decided 
change,  as  I  believed,  for  the  better.  The  recommendation  contained  in 
my  annual  report  of  1885  was  substantially  as  follows : 

That  Congress  should  authorize  the  President  to  appoint  a  commission 
of  three  experienced,  competent  men,  empowered  to  treat  with  the  differ- 
ent tribes  ;  to  consider  all  legal  or  just  claims  to  titles  ;  to  grant  to  the 
Indian  occupants  of  the  territory  such  quantity  of  land  in  severalty  as 
might  be  required  for  their  support,  but  not  transferable  for  twenty 
years  ;  that  their  title  to  the  remainder  be  so  far  extinguished  as  that  it 
might  be  held  in  trust  or  sold  by  the  government,  and  that  a  sufficient 
amount  of  the  proceeds  should  be  granted  them  to  indemnify  them  for  any 
interest  they  might  possess  in  the  land  ;  that  enough  of  said  proceeds  be 
provided  to  enable  the  Indians  in  the  Territory  to  become  self  sustaining. 
The  land  not  required  for  Indian  occupation  to  be  thrown  open  for  settle- 
ment under  the  same  laws  and  rules  as  have  been  applied  to  the  public 
domain. 

This  was  the  same  course  that  I  had  recommended  before  in  the  north- 
west, while  in  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Columbia,  and,  having 
demonstrated  its  success  by  actual  experiment.  I  knew  that  the  plan  was 
practical,  just  and  humane.  If  there  have  been  failures  in  attempting  to 
carry  it  out,  it  was  because  the  officials  appointed  to  treat  with  the  Indians 
were  inexperienced  and  did  not  understand  the  Indian's  method  of  reason- 
ing, his  tastes  or  his  ambitions;  or  because  they  were  theorists,  instead  of 
being  practical  men,  capable  of  inspiring  confidence.  I  also  favored  the 
employment  of  a  number  of  Indians  in  the  army,  as  scouts,  guides  and  trail- 
ers knowing  from  personal  experience  that  they  were  endowed  with  many 
of  the  qualities  that  would  make  them  useful.  I  had  commanded  Indians 
in  various  parts  of  the  West  for  years,  and,  besides  having  found  them  of 
great  value  in  numerous  ways,  never  in  the  whole  course  of  my  acquaint- 
ance with  them  did  I  know  one  of  them  to  be  unfaithful  to  a  trust. 

Everything  pertaining  to  the  Department  of  the  Missouri  now  being 
quiet,  I  was  looking  forward  to  a  peaceful  sojourn  at  Fort  Leavenworth, 
which  had  formerly  been  my  headquarters  for  several  years  while  colonel 


436  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

of  the  Fifth  Infantry  ;  but  the  wily  Apaches  were  busily  at  work  in  a  way 
to  completely  frustrate  any  such  designs  on  my  part.  Within  nine 
months  from  the  time  I  took  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Missouri 
I  was  assigned  to  the  Department  of  Arizona,  where  the  Apaches  were 
devastating  the  country. 

For  many  years  there  had  been  serious  troubles  with  these  Indians. 
They  would  allow  themselves  to  be  placed  on  reservations,  and  after 
remaining  there  as  long  as  their  own  convenience  dictated,  would  suddenly 
escape  to  the  mountains,  and  from  there  send  out  raiding  parties  in 
all  directions  to  burn,  plunder  and  terrorize  the  inhabitants  of  the 
country.  While  the  Indians  still  remaining  at  the  agencies  did  not  take 
active  part  in  these  hostilities  they  aided  and  abetted  the  actual  offenders 
in  many  ways,  thus  enabling  them  to  resist  the  troops  sent  against  them 
much  longer  than  would  otherwise  have  been  possible. 

In  Arizona  the  state  of  affairs  was  altogether  different  from  that  which 
had  prevailed  in  my  campaigns  against  the  Sioux.  In  the  north  the  terri- 
ble cold  was  the  chief  obstacle  to  success,  while  in  Arizona  the  heat  and 
want  of  water  were  equally  formidable.  The  Apaches  had  for  generations 
been  accustomed  to  the  heat,  the  rugged  mountains,  and  the  scarcity  of 
water,  against  which  the  troops  found  it  so  difficult  to  contend,  and  had 
moved  from  one  place  to  another  so  quickly  and  stealthily  that  the  settlers 
could  never  for  a  moment  feel  sure  of  the  safety  of  their  lives  and  prop- 
erty. The  Apaches  devoted  themselves  with  great  impartiality  to  Arizona, 
New  Mexico,  and  Northern  Mexico;  and  the  citizens  of  these  parts  of  the 
country  had  become  so  paralyzed  with  terror,  as  to  cause  in  many  in- 
stances the  abandonment  of  the  ordinary  avocations  of  life. 

Before  entering  upon  the  history  of  the  campaign  against  the  Apaches, 
it  may  be  interesting  to  glance  briefly  at  the  peculiar  history  and  still 
more  peculiar  geographical  features  of  the  vast  region  the  Apache  so  long 
dominated. 

In  prehistoric  times,  Arizona  was  probably  inhabited  by  a  very  superior 
race,  judging  by  the  ruins  of  their  cities,  aqueducts,  fortifications,  etc. 
But  the  known  history  of  the  territory  extends  back  only  to  the  time  of 
Narvaez's  ill-starred  expedition  to  Florida,  after  the  failure  of  which  Ca- 
beza  de  Vaca,  the  treasurer  of  the  expedition,  who  probably  little  realized 
the  extent  of  his  undertaking,  with  three  companions  started  to  walk 
across  the  continent  as  the  only  possible  chance  of  being  able  to  join  the 
Spaniards  in  Mexico.  The  wanderings  and  adventures  of  these  men  dur- 
ing their  tremendous  pedestrian  tour  read  like  a  romance.  They  waded 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


437 


the  swamps  and  bayous  of  Florida,  passed  through  what  is  now  Georgia, 
Alabama  and  Mississippi,  discovered  the  Father  of  Waters  nearly  ten 
years  before  the  eyes  of  De  Soto  rested  upon  it,  followed  along  the 
course  of  a  great  river  supposed  to  have  been  the  Arkansas,  entered  New 
Mexico,  and  finally  reached  a  Pima  settlement  on  the  Gila  River  in  Ari- 
zona. These  Indians  treated  them  with  marked  deference,  and  having 
heard  of  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards  to  the 
south,  were  able  to  direct  the  wanderers  to  Mex- 
ico, where  they  finally  arrived, 
bronzed,  dirty,  and  so  wild  in 
their  appearance  that  their  fel- 
low-countrymen could  hardly 
believe  that  they  were  gazing 
upon  white  men  and  Spaniards. 
The  stories  told  by  these 
men  of  the  wonders  encoun- 


tered by  them  during 
their  j  ourneying, 
aroused  the  spirit  of 
adventure  and  cupidity 
in  the  Spaniards,  who 
were  never  very  loath 
to  undertake  any  enter- 
prise that  promised  ei- 
ther gold  or  glory.  The 
priests  also  listened  to 
the  wonderful  tales  and 
one  of  them,  Padre 
Marco  de  Niza,  organized  an  expedition  that  pushed  north  to  the 
valleys  of  central  Arizona,  and  thence  northeast  to  beyond  the 
Little  Colorado,  where  they  beheld  the  first  of  the  Seven  Cities  de- 
scribed by  Cabeza  de  Vaca.  The^  return  of  this  party  wrought  the 
Spaniards  up  to  such  a  pitch  of  excitement  that  the  expedition  of 
Coronado,  in  1540,  was  the  result.  This  expedition  was  a  strong  one, 
numbering  nearly  a  thousand  men,  all  of  whom  expected  to  find  and 


CLIFF  DWELLINGS  ON  BEAVER  CREEK,  ARIZONA,  THREE  MILES  FROM 
FORT  VERDI,  SOMETIMES  CALLED  MONTEZUMA'S  PALACE. 


438  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

conquer  another  people  as  rich  in  the  precious  metals  as  they  had  found  the 
Aztecs  to  be.  Only  a  few  poor  and  insignificant  villages  rewarded  their 
search,  however,  and  disappointed  in  his  dreams  of  conquest  in  that 
direction  the  Spanish  leader  turned  to  what  is  now  New  Mexico,  where 
he  met  with  no  better  success.  From  New  Mexico  he  traveled  to 
the  north  and  east  and  explored  the  country  as  far  as  the  site  of  the 
present  city  of  Denver,  and  probably  even  reached  the  Missouri,  after 
which,  at  the  end  of  the  two  years  of  profitless  wanderings,  he  and  his  men 
returned  to  Mexico. 

Both  Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  Coronado  observed  the  numerous  traces  of  a 
prehistoric   race  scattered  throughout  this  region.     First  in  importance 
among  these  ruins  was  the  famous  Casa  Grande,  which  is  still  standing, 
though  naturally  not  in  so  good  a  state  of  preservation  as  it  showed 
three  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.     In  1540,  when  vis- 
ited by  Coronado,  this  ruin  was  described  as  being 
four  stories  high  with  walls  six  feet 
in  thickness.     Around  it  were  many 
other  ruins  which  proved  that  a  city 
of  considerable  size  had  once  existed 
there.     Like  the  Egyptians  who  now 
dwell  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  pyr- 
amids  and   know   nothing   of  their 
origin,  the  Pima  Indians  who  were 
living  in  its  immediate  vicinity  knew 
nothing    of    its    origin    or   history, 

OLDEST  HOUSE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  SANTA  FE,  V  M.  -      ."    ,      ,     ,  .         .       , 

and  it  had  been  a  rum  farther 
back  than  the  earliest  date  mentioned  in  any  of  their  traditions. 

After  Coronado's  visit  forty  years  elapsed  before  another  attempt  was 
made  to  explore  Arizona,  but  in  1582  Espejo  led  an  expedition  far  toward 
the  north  and  discovered  rich  silver  ore  at  a  spot  which  is  now  supposed 
to  have  been  in  what  we  have  named  the  Black  Hills,  in  Dakota.  So  far 
as  we  know  this  was  the  first  finding,  in  that  vast  region,  of  the  precious 
metals  which  have  since  given  that  country  its  chief  importance  in  the 
world. 

As  the  Spanish  cavaliers  undertook  these  expeditions  merely  for  the 
sake  of  gaining  sudden  wealth  such  as  had  been  acquired  by  the  con- 
querors of  Mexico  and  Peru,  they  never  troubled  themselves  to  plant 
colonies,  so  that  the  history  of  most  of  the  old  Spanish  towns  in  America 
dates  back  no  further  than  to  the  missions  established  there  by  the  priests. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


439 


The  first  mission  within  the  present  limits  of  Arizona  was  founded  at  a 
place  then  called  Grevavi,  in  1687,  by  Fray  Eusebio  Francisco  Kino  and 
Padre  Juan  Maria  Salvatierra,  and  by  1720  there  had  been  nine  such 
missions  established.  After  the  great  Indian  revolt  which  occurred  in 
1751,  in  which  the  Spaniards  were  driven  entirely  out  of  the  country,  the 
presidios  of  Tucson  and  Tubec  were  founded  and  maintained  with  small 
garrisons  of  soldiers  for 
the  protection  of  the 
missions.  Besides  these 
there  were  a  number 
of  small  but  flourishing 
settlements  possessing 
large  flocks  of  sheep 
and  herds  of  cattle ; 
mining  was  also  vigor- 
ously prosecuted. 

As  a  result  of  the 
Mexican  war,  by  the 
treaty  of  Guadalupe  in 
1847,  all  that  portion  of 
the  territory  north  of 
the  Gila  River  was  ceded 
to  the  United  States.  At  that  time  there  was  not  a  single  white  inhabitant 
in  all  that  vast  region  which  stretched  from  the  Gila  River  north  to  the 
present  Utah  boundary,  and  from  the  Colorado  River  to  the  present  line 
of  New  Mexico.  In  1854  that  portion  of  the  territory  lying  south  of  the 
Gila  was  acquired  from  Mexico  by  the  treaty  negotiated  by  James  Gadsden/ 
then  minister  to  Mexico,  and  at  a  cost  of  $10,000,000.  On  the  last  day  of 
December,  1854,  a  memorial  to  Congress  was  introduced  in  the  legislature 
of  New  Mexico  praying  for  the  organization  of  the  western  portion  of  that 
territory  into  a  separate  political  division.  Pimeria  was  the  first  name 
given  to  the  territory  thus  cut  off  from  New  Mexico,  but  it  was  soon 
changed  to  Arizona.  The  origin  of  the  latter  name  is  not  positively 
known;  some  claiming  that  it  means  "little  creek"  in  the  Pima  language, 
while  others  hold  that  it  is  derived  from  two  Pima  words  "ari"  a  maiden, 
and  "zon"  a  valley  or  country,  having  reference  to  a  traditionary  maiden 
queen  who  once  ruled  the  whole  Pima  nation.  The  name  can  also  be 
traced  to  the  meaning  of  two  Spanish  words  combined  into  one,  and 
signifying  a  dry  belt — an  "ai'id  zone." 


PETRIFIED  FOREST,  ARIZONA. 


440 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


This  attempt  to  secure  a  Territorial  government  was  unsuccessful,  but 
still  the  country  slowly  prospered.  A  stage  route  was  organized,  the  mines 
were  worked,  and  despite  the  continual  ravages  of  the  Indians  the  country 
seemed  on  the  high  road  to  prosperity  up  to  the  time  of  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Civil  War.  The  troops  were  then  ordered  out  of  the  country  for 
service  elsewhere,  and  every  American  who  could  do  so  fled  to  California 
or  to  Sonora,  Mexico.  Then,  as  there  was  absolutely  no  one  to  control 
them,  the  Apaches  swept  down  from  their  mountain  heights  and  indulged 
in  a  perfect  saturnalia  of  slaughter  among  the  settlers  who  had  been  so 
unfortunate  as  to  remain  behind.  In  February,  1862,  the  Confederates 


took    possession 
but  retreated    in 
umn  of  volun- 
nia.    The  pres- 
spired  con- 
settlers 


of    a 
May 


portion  of  the  country, 
on  the  coming  of  a  col- 
teers  from  Califor- 
ence  of  these  in- 
fi  d  e  n  c  e  .  and 
again  ventured 
into  the  Terri- 


THE  PAINTED  DESERT. 


tory.  Gold  was  discovered 
on  the  Colorado,  and  busi- 
ness once  more  began  to  re- 
vive. 

It  was  not  until  1863  that  the  country  gained  a  political  existence 
separate  from  New  Mexico.  During  the  following  ten  years  its  history  was 
a  bloody  one,  the  Indians  laying  waste  the  country  and  killing  the  white 
settlers  whenever  they  could  get  an  opportunity.  But  immigration  still 
went  on,  the  rich  mines  being  the  lodestone  that  drew  crowds  of  adven- 
turers in  spite  of  the  terror  inspired  by  the  Apaches.  Settlements  gradu- 
ally took  root,  and  in  1878,  when  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  was  built 
through  the  Territory,  a  brighter  period  in  Arizona's  history  begins. 

The  surface  of  Arizona  may  be  described  as  a  vast,  lofty  plateau,  in  the 
northern  part  crossed  and  recrossed  by  mountain  ranges,  deep  canons  and 
narrow  valleys.  This  northern  part  is  from  five  thousand  to  seven  thous- 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


441 


and  feet  above  the  sea  level,  but  gradually  decreases  in  altitude  toward 
the  south.  The  highest  mountain  peak  is  Mount  San  Francisco,  a  huge 
extinct  volcanic  cone,  thirteen  thousand  feet  in  height,  which  may  be  seen 
two  hundred  miles  away.  During  the  melting  of  the  winter  snows  and 
after  the  heavy  summer  rains, 
the  deep  gorges  and  ravines 
are  filled  with  wild  and  furious 
floods  that  carry  everything 
before  them. 

The  most  extensive  of  the 
table  lands  of  Arizona  is  known 
as  the  Colorado  plateau.  Be- 
tween the  massive  mountain 
ranges  that  diversify  its  sur- 
face are  extensive  grassy  plains 
and  valleys  with  a  fertile  soil 
and  delightful  climate.  This 
great  region  is  drained  by  many 
rivers.  The  southwestern  por- 
tion of  the  territory  adjacent 
to  the  gulf  is  made  up  of  plains 
covered  with  coarse  grass  and 
scanty  shrubbery,  but  almost 
devoid  of  all  other  vegetation. 
The  soil  is  unproductive  with- 
out irrigation,  and  in  places 
water  is  very  scarce.  In  the 
southeast  a  different  order  of 
things  prevails.  Here  the  lofty 
mountain  ranges  are  covered 
with  some  verdure  and  are  in- 
terspersed with  broad  valleys 

affording  fair  pasturage.  Central  Arizona  contains  the  richest  body  of 
agricultural  land  in  the  Territory,  and  the  valleys  of  the  Gila  and  the 
Salt  Rivers  rank  among  the  best.  In  these  valleys  is  a  soil  on  which 
anything  will  grow  that  can  be  raised  within  the  temperate  and  semi- 
tropical  zones,  and  the  climate  is  almost  unequaled  but  here  also,  as 
elsewhere,  irrigation  is  required. 

North  from  the  junction  of  the  Little  and  Great  Colorado  Rivers  is  a 


442 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


most  remarkable  region  known  as  the  Painted  Desert,  or  as  the  Indians, 
who  carefully  avoid  the  spot,  call  it,  "  the  country  of  departed  spirits. "  It 
is  a  perfect  picture  of  desolation,  being  entirely  destitute  of  water  and 
vegetation,  and  with  its  entire  surface  covered  with  isolated  peaks  and 

buttes  fashioned  by  the  floods 
of  ages  into  the  most  fantastic 
and  grotesque  shapes.  The  air 
is  wonderfully  clear,  and  shows 
marvelous  mirages  in  the  form 
of  temples,  fountains,  fortifi- 
cations, beautiful  landscapes, 
companies  of  people,  and  all 
painted  by  the  atmosphere  in 
such  a  way  that  it  seems  im- 
possible to  doubt  their  reality. 
The  Colorado  River,  which 
crosses  the  northwest  corner 
and  forms  part  of  the  western 
boundary  of  Arizona,  ranks 
among  the  great  rivers  of  the 
continent.  The  Grand  Canon 
of  the  Colorado  is  one  of  the 
wonders  of  nature,  the  dupli- 
cate of  which  can  nowhere  be 
found.  This  tremendous  gorge, 
from  one  thousand  to  seven 
thousand  feet  in  depth,  cuts 
its  way  through  the  solid  rock 
for  more  than  four  hundred 
miles,  and  though  its  beauty 
is  of  a  dark  and  gloomy  char- 
acter, it  is  superbly  grand. 

Standing  beside  its  rushing  waters  it  gives  one  a  strange  sensation  to  real- 
ize that  he  is  over  a  mile  below  the  crust  of  the  earth.  The  Colorado  is 
one  of  the  principal  tributaries  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  on  the  American  conti- 
nent, and  down  its  course  there  flows  a  volume  of  water  rivaling  that  of  the 
Nile,  and  capable  of  irrigating  a  territory  several  times  the  extent  of  Egypt. 
The  first  miners  in  Arizona  were  the  old  Jesuit  fathers.  Their  success 
encouraged  others,  and  many  rich  discoveries  were  made.  The  largest 


SHINI-MO  ALTAR  PROM  BRINK  OF  MARBLE  CASON. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  443 

piece  of  silver  ever  found,  and  which  weighed  twenty-seven  hundred 
pounds,  was  taken  from  an  Arizona  mine.  Philip  V.  of  Spain  confiscated 
this  nugget  on  the  ground  that  it  was  a  curiosity  and,  therefore,  belonged 
to  the  crown.  The  first  mining  by  Americans  was  undertaken  in  the 
Santa  Rita  Mountains  by  a  company  organized  in  1855.  Naturally,  mining 
was  carried  on  with  considerable  difficulty,  as  all  supplies  had  to  be 
brought  overland  from  St.  Louis  or  from  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  the 
terrible  Apaches  were  ever  alert  to  destroy  any  white  man  that  came 
within  their  power. 

At  the  time  of  the  Civil  War,  mining,  like  everything  else  in  Arizona, 
came  to  a  standstill,  but  in  spite  of  all  drawbacks  the  Territory  soon  took 
rank  with  the  foremost  mining  localities  in  its  output  of  silver.  The 
placing  of  the  hostile  Apaches  on  reservations,  and  the  entrance  of  two  of 
the  great  railroads  into  the  country,  largely  contributed  to  this  result. 
The  closing  of  some  of  the  silver  mines  caused  by  the  low  price  of  silver 
in  these  recent  times  has  resulted  in  a  marked  increase  of  the  gold  pro- 
duction, and  the  prospects  are  that  Arizona  will  soon  be  prominent  among 
the  States  and  Territories  in  the  production  of  that  metal.  The  gold  out- 
put of  1894  was  valued  at  $2,080,250,  and  the  silver  at  $1,700,800,  and, 
besides  this,  48,270,500  pounds  of  copper  were  mined.  One  of  the  most 
valuable  products  of  the  Territory  is  copper,  and  in  this,  Arizona  rivals  the 
great  deposits  of  Lake  Superior  and  western  Montana. 

In  1890  the  census  returns  gave  the  population  of  Arizona  as  59,620. 
Phoenix,  the  present  capital  of  the  Territory,  is  pleasantly  situated  in  the 
Salt  Eiver  Valley.  In  this  region  much  has  been  done  by  irrigation,  and 
large  orange  groves  and  fine  vineyards  are  the  result.  Tucson  is  the 
largest  city. 

While  in  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Columbia,  in  the  spring 
of  1882,  I  visited  San  Francisco,  and  there  met  General  W.  T.  Sherman, 
commanding  the  army.  He  had  just  passed  through  the  Territories  of  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona.  The  condition  of  affairs  at  that  time,  especially  in 
Arizona,  was  not  satisfactory,  and  in  fact  was  very  serious.  The  Apache 
Indians  were  on  the  warpath,  and  were  committing  depredations  in  various 
sections  of  the  Territory.  It  had  been  decided  to  make  a  change  in 
the  command  of  that  department,  and  General  Sherman  suggested  that  I 
should  be  assigned  to  the  command,  but  said  the  change  would  not  be 
made  unless  it  was  agreeable  to  me.  I  replied  that  I  did  not  desire  to  go 
there;  that  other  officers  had  had  experience  in  that  part  of  the  country 
and  I  thought  it  better  to  give  them  an  opportunity  of  restoring  peace, 

M.— 26 


444  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

subjugating  the  Indians  and  eventually  bringing  them  under  control; 
that  I  had  been  but  recently  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Department  of 
the  Columbia  and  was  much  interested  in  the  cares  and  responsibilities  of 
that  command  and  in  the  development  and  progress  of  that  great  north  west 
country.  This  ended  the  conversation,  and  the  subject  of  my  going  to 
that  part  of  the  United  States  was  at  that  time  dismissed. 

Still  I  watched  with  great  interest  the  reports  from  that  section  of 
country;  all  that  was  published  regarding  the  depredations  of  the  Indians, 
the  movements  of  troops,  and  the  various  phases  incident  to  hostilities  of 
that  nature  were  carefully  noted.  I  traced  on  the  best  maps  that  I  could 
obtain  of  that  country  the  movements  of  the  Indians  according  to  the 
dates  as  they  were  reported,  observed  where  and  when  hostilities  were 
committed,  where  and  when  certain  bands  of  warriors  appeared,  from 
whence  they  came  and  in  what  direction  they  were  reported  to  have  gone, 
comparing  one  report  with  another,  and  thereby  tracing  as  far  as  practica- 
ble the  habits  and  actions  of  the  hostile  Indians.  I  thus  became  somewhat 
familiar  with  the  raids  of  the  Indians  and  the  routes  of  travel  they  most 
frequently  pursued  along  certain  ranges  of  mountains  the  topographical 
features  of  which  were  given  on  the  official  maps.  I  kept  trace  of  these 
to  a  certain  extent  while  in  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Columbia, 
and  when  afterwards  transferred  to  the  Department  of  the  Missouri,  with 
headquarters  at  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  continued  to  follow  the  course  of 
events  with  more  or  less  interest. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  445 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 
THE  APACHE  AND  THE  SOLDIER. 

GENERAL    CROOK   AND   His    EXPERIENCES  —  CHARACTER  or  THESE    INDIANS  —  ILLUSTRATIVE    IN- 
STANCES— A    WILDERNESS    CEMETERY  —  MOUNTAIN    FASTNESSES    OF    ARIZONA  — 
RESOURCES  OF  THE  APACHE  IN   WAR  —  A   FORMER  CAMPAIGN. 

ENERAL  CROOK  had  been  trying  for  years  to  bring  the 
Apaches  to  terms,  and  on  several  occasions  within  thirty  years 
they  had  pretended  to  surrender  and  had  accepted  the  terms 
given  them  by  the  government.  They  would  then  go  back  to 
i.  their  agencies  with  their  plunder,  stolen  stock,  and  for  a  fresh 
supply  of  the  munitions  of  war,  and  after  remaining  quiet  for 
some  time  would  suddenly  break  out  again  with  renewed  ferocity. 
There  were  various  bands  of  Apaches — Yuma,  Mohave,  White  Moun- 
tain, Chiricahua  and  other  branches.  The  Chiricahuas  were  the  worst, 
wildest  and  strongest  of  all.  The  Apache  regarded  himself  as  the  first 
man;  the  "superior  man,"  as  the  word  Apache  indicates.  In  some  re- 
spects they  really  were  superior.  They  excelled  in  strength,  activity, 
endurance,  and  also  in  cruelty.  They  were  cruel  to  everything  that  came 
within  their  power.  If  the  young  Apache  could  capture  a  bird  or  a 
mouse  or  any  living  thing,  he  took  the  keenest  delight  in  torturing  it, 
and  this  species  of  cruelty  did  not  disappear  even  when  they  grew  to  be 
stalwart  men.  They  took  pleasure  in  tormenting  any  living  creature  from 
a  bird  to  a  horse.  Their  atrocities  are  simply  too  horrible  and  shocking  to 
write  out  in  words. 

There  is  an  Indian  by  the  name  of  Schimizene  still  living  in  that  Ter- 
ritory who,  for  a  number  of  years  was  in  the  habit  of  traveling  past  a 
certain  white  man's  dwelling,  and  on  these  occasions  was  always  treated 
kindly,  given  food,  and  made  comfortable  whenever  he  cared  to  tarry. 
One  morning  after  having  stayed  there  long  enough  to  secure  a  good 
breakfast,  he  picked  up  his  rifle  and  killed  his  benefactor,  and  then  went 
away  boasting  of  what  a  strong  heart  he  had.  "Why,"  he  remarked,  "a 
weak  man  or  a  coward  could  kill  his  enemy  or  any  one  who  had  done  him 
an  injury;  but  it  takes  a  man  of  a  strong  heart  to  kill  a  friend  or  one  who 
has  always  treated  him  kindly."  This  is  a  specimen  of  Apache  reasoning. 


446 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


At  another  time  during  Indian  hostilities  he  captured  an  unfortunate  white 
man  and  buried  him,  all  but  his  head,  in  close  proximity  to  a  large  black 
ant  hill  such  as  are  found  in  that  country,  sometimes  two  feet  high  and 

from  one  to  three  feet 
in  diameter.  The  un- 
happy victim  lived  for 
two  days,  suffering  the 
most  excruciating  tor- 
ture while  the  ants 
slowly  ate  away  the  flesh 
from  his  head. 

Another  incident 
showing  the  heartless- 
ness  of  this  people  was 
related  to  me  by  one 
personally  cognizant  of 
the  facts,  and  of  un- 
do u  b  t  e  d  trustworthi- 
ness. A  renegade,  or 
outlaw  Indian,  had  com- 
mitted several  murders 
and  was  wanted  to  an- 
swer for  his  numerous 
crimes,  but  the  official  at  the  agency  had  found  it  impossible  to  arrest  him, 
as  he  rarely  appeared  there,  and  kept  himself  concealed  in  some  safe  moun- 
tain retreat.  Seeing  no  other  way  of  securing  the  criminal  the  officer  in 
charge  called  up  a  dissolute  Indian,  a  cousin  of  the  outlaw,  and  told  him  that 
if  he  would  go  out  into  the  mountains  and  bring  in  the  culprit  alive,  or  if 
that  was  impossible,  a  proof  of  his  death,  he  would  give  him  a  certain  horse, 
which  was  pointed  out  to  him.  One  morning  not  long  afterward,  the  officer 
was  in  his  quarters  seated  at  the  breakfast  table,  when  this  Indian  appeared 
before  him  carrying  a  sack  over  his  shoulder.  He  advanced  to  where  the 
officer  was  sitting  and  remarked  with  much  apparent  satisfaction  that  he 
had  come  for  the  horse,  at  the  same  time  shaking  the  head  of  his  relative 
from  the  sack  to  the  floor  at  the  officer's  feet;  and  the  Indian  received  his 
fat  gray  horse. 

A  short  time  after  this,  as  the  officer  was  going  about  the  agency,  the 
same  Indian  motioned  to  him  to  come  round  the  corner  of  the  agency 
building  that  he  might  speak  to  him  in  private.  The  officer  naturally  not 


APAOHE  CRUELTY. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


447 


having  much  confidence  in  the  sense  of  honor  of  this  particular  savage, 
called  an  interpreter  to  go  with  him.  He  need  not  have  feared,  for  the 
Indian  merely  wished  to  say  that  if  the  officer  had  another  good  gray 
horse,  he  had  another  cousin  whose  head  he  could  bring  in  at  any  time. 

The  instance  given  conveys  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  unique  character  of 
the  Indian  I  found  myself  called  upon 
to  subdue.    He  was,  besides,  pos- 
sessed of  resources  not  under  the 
control  of  the  white  man. 

He  required  noth- 
ing of  the  white  man 
to  support  life,  and 
wanted  only  his  weap- 
ons for  warfare.  The 
deserts  and  the  moun- 
tain fastnesses  were 
his  allies,  and  with  his 
knowledge  of  the  en- 
tire country,  he  could 
find  in  the  rocks  tanks 
of  water  where  a  white 
man  would  die  of 
thirst.  Even  in  the 
desert  the  cactus  was 
used  for  both  food  and 
drink,  nature  aiding 
him  where  she  was  fatal  to  the  white  man.  From  the  United  States  these 
Indians  fled  to  the  most  inaccessible  mountains  of  Mexico,  and  not  till  the 
treaty  made  in  1882,  did  it  become  possible  for  our  troops  to  pursue  them 
into  that  country. 

As  previously  stated,  General  Crook  had  been  trying  for  years  to  bring 
the  Apaches  to  terms  and  keep  them  under  control.  In  1883  he  made 
an  expedition  into  Mexico  which  resulted  in  the  return  of  the  Chiricahuas 
and  Warm  Springs  Indians  under  Geronimo  and  Natchez  to  the  Apache 
reservation. 

For  nearly  two  years  they  remained  quiet,  when  tiring  of  peaceful  pur- 
suits, Geronimo,  Natchez,  Mangus  and  many  others,  in  May,  1885,  again 
went  on  the  warpath  and  fled  into  Mexico.  They  were  vigorously  pur- 
sued but  succeeded  in  eluding  the  troops  and  commenced  again  their  work 


CLAIMING  His  REWARD. 


448 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


of  death  and  destruction  from  their  base  in  the  Sierra  Madre  Mountains. 
Captain  Wirt  Davis,  Fourth  Cavalry  with  his  troop  and  one  hundred  In- 
dian scouts,  pursued  them  and  surprised  their  camp  near  Nacori,  Mexico. 
Lieutenant  Hay,  Fourth  Cavalry  (of  the  command),  with  seventy-eight 

scouts,  attacked  their  camp,  surprising  them, 
but  only  succeeded  in  capturing  their  camp 
outfit  and  killing  two  boys  and  a  woman. 
Captain  Crawford,  Third  Cavalry,  with  a  bat- 


talion  of  scouts  also 
proceeded  to  Mexico 
in  pursuit,  and  his  scouts 
under  Chatto  encountered 
Chihuahua  in  the  Bavispe 
Mountains  and  captured 
fifteen  women.  An  ac- 
count of  this  campaign  is  given  by  Captain  Maus.  Captain  Dorst  also 
commanded  a  similar  expedition. 

Despite  constant  pursuit  these  Indians  succeeded  in  crossing  back  into 
the  United  States,  murdering  people,  and  destroying  property.  One  band, 
Josanie  with  ten  men,  crossed  into  the  United  States,  raided  the  Apache 


His  ACTIONS  WERE  CURIOUS. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  449 

reservation,  killed  some  of  the  friendly  Indians  as  well  as  thirty-eight  white 
people,  captured  about  two  hundred  head  of  stock,  and  returned  to  Mexico. 
This  expedition  occupied  only  four  weeks  and  the  Indians  traveled  a  dis- 
tance of  over  twelve  hundred  miles.  That  such  a  raid  was  possible  despite 
the  fact  that  in  addition  to  the  commands  already  mentioned,  there  was  a 
large  force  of  regular  troops  in  the  field  (forty-three  companies  of  infantry 
and  forty  troops  of  cavalry),  shows  the  energy  and  daring  of  these  Indians. 

The  necessity  of  following  and  constantly  harassing  them  being  evi- 
dent, two  expeditions  were  again  formed  to  go  in  pursuit.  One  consisted 
of  a  battalion  of  Indian  scouts  (one  hundred  and  two  men)  and  a  troop 
of  cavalry  under  Captain  Wirt  Davis,  Fourth  Cavalry,  and  the  other  of  a 
battalion  of  Indian  scouts  (one  hundred  men)  under  Captain  Crawford, 
Third  Cavalry.  The  first  battalion  (Davis)  was  composed  of  San  Carlos 
and  White  Mountain  Indians,  principally,  and  the  second  (Crawford)  was 
composed  of  Chiricahuas,  Warm  Springs  and  White  Mountain  Apaches. 
The  Indians  of  the  battalion  were  largely  a  part  of  the  band  to  be  de- 
stroyed, and  in  every  respect  as  savage  and  as  able  as  they.  Captain  Davis 
operated  in  Chihuahua,  while  Captain  Crawford  proceeded  with  his  com- 
mand into  Sonora.  Captain  Crawford  selected  the  people  composing  his 
command  on  account  of  the  fact  that  they  were  mountain  Indians  and 
knew  the  haunts  of  these  to  be  pursued,  being,  indeed,  a  part  of  their  bands. 
Many  doubted  the  wisdom  of  taking  these  men  alone  with  no  troops,  and 
predictions  of  treachery  were  freely  made,  but  still  officers  volunteered  for 
the  duty.  Those  selected  were  Lieutenant  Marion  P.  Maus,  First  Infantry, 
and  Lieutenant  W.  E.  Shipp,  Tenth  Cavalry,  to  command  the  companies, 
while  Lieutenant  S.  L.  Faison,  First  Infantry,  was  the  adjutant,  quarter- 
master and  commissary  officer,  and  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon  T.  B.  Davis 
was  the  medical  officer.  The  scouts  were  selected  and  enlisted,  fifty  each,  by 
Lieutenants  Maus  and  Shipp,  thus  forming  the  battalion  of  one  hundred  men. 

The  history  of  this  expedition  into  Mexico,  its  unique  formation,  the 
almost  unparalleled  hardships  and  dangers  it  encountered,  the  tragic  death 
of  its  commander,  Captain  Emmet  Crawford,  and  the  international  phase 
of  the  affair,  all  give  it  an  especial  interest,  and  we  will  follow  its  move- 
ments in  detail  from  the  time  the  command  left  Apache  till  its  return  and 
muster  out  of  the  service — a  period  of  six  months.  This  account  is  best  given 
in  the  narrative  of  Captain  Marion  P.  Maus,  who  accompanied  Captain 
Crawford,  and  is  himself  one  of  the  most  experienced  officers  in  the 
service.  His  account  illustrates  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome,  as  well 
as  the  fortitude  and  courage  of  our  officers  and  soldiers. 


450 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

A  CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  THE  APACHES.     [CAPTAIN  MADS'  NARRATIVE.] 

BEGINNING  OP  THE  CAMPAIGN  OP  1885  —  CROSSING  INTO  MEXICO  —  METHODS  OP  THE  INDIAN  SCOUTS  — 
LITTLE  MEXICAN  TOWNS  AND  THEIR  PEOPLE  —  MESCAL  AND  ITS  USE  BY  INDIANS  —  FIRST  NEWS  OP 
THE  HOSTILES  —  BEGINNING  OP  A  MOUNTAIN  MARCH  ON  FOOT  —  ABANDONED  CAMPS  —  THE 
DEVIL'S  BACKBONE  —  FINDING  THE  HOSTILES  —  THE  ATTACK  —  A  BATTLE   WITH 
MEXICAN  TROOPS  THAT  WAS  FOUGHT  BY  MISTAKE  —  CAPTAIN  CRAWFORD 
MORTALLY  WOUNDED —  LATER  ACTION  OF  THE  MEXICANS  —  THE  HOME- 
WARD MARCH  —  MESSENGER  FROM  GEROXIMO —  A  CONFERENCE  — 
AN  INDIAN  TRICK  —  DEATH  OP  CAPTAIN  CRAWFORD  —  BUR- 
IAL AT  NAOORI,  MEXICO  —  UNFRIENDLY  DISPOSI- 
TION OP  THE  MEXICANS  —  ARRIVAL  IN  UNITED 
STATES      TERRITORY  —  RETURN     FOR 
THE  HOSTILES  —  THE  SIGNAL  — 
THE  ESCAPE  AND  PURSUIT 
—  RESULTS  OP  THE 
EXPEDITION 

HE  following  sketch  graphically  illustrates  the  warfare  of 
times  of  peace,  and  the  duties  and  perils  of  the  American 
regular  soldier.  Such  narratives,  were  they  all  written, 
would  constitute  much  of  the  history,  almost  to  date  of 
the  southwest.  The  narrative  has  an  added  value  in 
the  fact  that  it  is  the  story  of  personal  experiences. 

The  command,  fully  equipped  for  field  service,  left  Apache, 
Arizona,  on  November  11,  1885,  for  Fort  Bowie.  Here  it  was  inspected  by 
Lieutenant-General  Sheridan  and  Brigadier-General  Crook,  and  with  words 
of  encouragement  from  these  officers,  the  command  started  south  by  way  of 
the  Dragoon  Mountains,  endeavoring  to  find  the  trail  of  a  band  of  Indians  who 
were  returning  to  Mexico  after  a  raid  into  the  United  States.  Thoroughly 
scouting  these  mountains  without  finding  the  trail,  we  went  on  to  the 
border  and  crossed  into  Mexico  twenty  miles  north  of  the  town  of  Front- 
eras,  with  the  object  of  pursuing  the  renegades  to  their  haunts  in  southern 
Sonora.  We  believed  that  if  we  could  trace  this  band  we  could  find  the 
entire  hostile  camp  under  Geronimo  and  Natchez.  Under  instructions 
from  Captain  Crawford,  I  preceded  the  command  to  the  town  of  Fronteras 
to  notify  the  Presidente  of  the  town  of  our  approach,  of  our  object  in 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


451 


coming,  and  to  gain  information.  It  was  a  small  place,  composed  of  the 
usual  adobe  buildings,  and  its  people  lived  in  a  constant  state  of  alarm  about 
the  movements  of  the  hostiles.  The  command  arriving,  we  proceeded  to 
Nocarasi,  a  small  mining  town 
in  the  Madre  Mountains.  On 
account  of  the  roughness  of  these 
mountains  we  found  great  diffi- 
culty in  crossing  them  with  the 
pack-train.  We  found  one  horse 
which  had  evidently  been  aban- 
doned by  the  hostiles,  but  no  dis- 
tinct trail. 

In  marching  the  command  it 
was  interesting  to  notice  the 
methods  adopted  by  our  Indians 
in  scouting  the  country  to  gain 
information  and  prevent  surprise. 
It  illustrated  to  us  very  clearly 
what  we  must  expect  from  the 
hostiles,  who  would  employ  the 
same  methods.  It  was  impos- 
sible to  march  these  scouts  as 
soldiers,  or  to  control  them  as 
such,  nor  was  it  deemed  advisa- 
ble to  attempt  it.  Among  them 
were  many  who  had  bloody  rec- 
ords; one  named  Dutchy  had 
killed,  in  cold  blood,  a  white 
man  near  Fort  Thomas,  and  for 
this  murder  the  civil  authorities  were  at  this  time  seeking  to  arrest 
him.  Their  system  of  advance  guards  and  flankers  was  perfect, 
and  as  soon  as  the  command  went  into  camp,  outposts  were  at  once 
put  out,  guarding  every  approach.  All  this  was  done  noiselessly 
and  in  secret,  and  without  giving  a  single  order.  As  scouts  for  a  com- 
mand in  time  of  war  they  would  be  ideal.  Small  of  stature,  and  ap- 
parently no  match  physically  for  the  white  man,  yet  when  it  came  to 
climbing  mountains  or  making  long  marches,  they  were  swift  and  tireless. 
The  little  clothing  they  wore  consisted  of  a  soldier's  blouse,  discarded  in 
time  of  action,  light  undergarments  and  a  waist  cloth,  and  on  the  march 


CAPTAIN  MAUS. 


452  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

the  blouse  was  often  turned  inside  out  to  show  only  the  gray  lining. 
Nothing  escaped  their  watchful  eyes  as  they  marched  silently  in  their 
moccasined  feet.  By  day  small  fires  were  built  of  dry  wood  to  avoid 
smoke,  and  at  night  they  were  made  in  hidden  places  so  as  to  be  invisible. 
If  a  high  point  was  in  view,  you  could  be  sure  that  a  scout  had  crawled  to 
the  summit  and,  himself  unseen,  with  a  glass  or  his  keen  eyes  had  searched 
the  country  around.  At  night  only  was  the  watch  relaxed,  for  these 
savages  dread  the  night  with  a  superstitious  fear.  It  was  necessary  to  allow 
them  their  way,  and  we  followed,  preserving  order  as  best  we  could  by 
exercising  tact  and  by  a  careful  study  of  their  habits.  Under  the  influence 
of  mescal,  which  is  a  liquor  made  in  all  parts  of  Mexico  and  easily  pro- 
cured, they  often  became  violent  and  troublesome  and  we  could  not  help 
realizing  how  perfectly  we  were  in  their  power.  However,  no  distrust  of 
them  was  shown.  One  of  my  Indians,  a  sergeant  named  Rubie,  followed 
me  one  day  while  I  was  hunting.  I  thought  his  actions  were  curious,  but 
they  were  explained  when  he  suddenly  came  from  the  front  and  told  me 
to  go  back.  He  had  seen  the  footprints  of  hostiles  near  by.  In  the  action 
which  followed  later  he  came  to  me  and  warned  me  to  cover.  There  was, 
however,  very  little  evidence  of  affection  or  gratitude  in  them  as  a  class. 

Continuing  the  march,  we  reached  the  town  of  Huasavas  in  the  valley 
of  the  Bavispe.  Orange  and  lemon  trees  were  filled  with  golden  fruit, 
although  it  was  now  the  22d  of  December.  This  valley,  surrounded  by 
high  mountains,  was  fertile  though  but  little  cultivated.  The  only  vehicles 
in  use  were  carts,  the  wheels  of  which  were  sections  sawed  from  logs.  The 
plows  were  pieces  of  pointed  wood.  The  people  were  devoid  of  all  the 
comforts  of  life.  Corn  flour  was  obtained  by  pounding  the  grains  on 
stones.  They  were  a  most  desolate  people,  and  completely  terrorized  by 
the  Apaches,  who  were  a  constant  menace  to  them,  as  they  were  to  the 
inhabitants  of  all  these  towns.  Here  occurred  the  first  serious  trouble 
with  the  Indian  scouts.  One  of  them,  who  was  drunk  but  unarmed,  was 
shot  by  a  Mexican  policeman.  At  the  time  I  was  on  my  way  to  the  town 
and  met  the  Indian,  who  was  running  down  the  road  toward  me,  followed 
by  two  policemen  or  guards  firing  rapidly.  One  ball  passed  through  his 
face,  coming  out  through  the  jaw.  The  other  Indian  scouts  were  much 
incensed,  and  at  once  began  to  prepare  for  an  attack  on  the  town,  giving 
us  much  trouble  before  we  were  able  to  stop  them.  The  officers  were 
unable  to  sleep  that  night,  as  many  of  the  Indians  had  been  drinking  and 
continued  to  be  so  angry  that  they  fired  off  their  rifles  in  the  camp.  The 
next  day  I  released  one  of  them  from  prison,  and  subsequently  had  to  pay 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  453 

a  fine  of  five  dollars  for  him.  It  was  claimed  by  the  Mexicans  that  the 
Indians  had  committed  some  breach  of  the  peace. 

Here  we  got  the  first  reliable  news  of  the  hostiles  who  were  murdering 
people  and  killing  cattle  to  the  south.  Crossing  the  mountains  we  passed 
the  towns  of  Granadas  and  Bacedahuachi,  the  latter  being  the  site  of  one 
of  the  fine  old  missions  built  by  the  daring  priests  who  had  sought  to  plant 
their  religion  among  the  natives  many  years  before. 

Proceeding  on  our  way  over  a  mountainous  country,  we  finally  came 
to  the  town  of  Nacori.  This  place  was  in  a  continual  state  of  alarm,  a 
wall  having  been  built  around  it  as  a  protection  against  the  Apaches,  the 
very  name  of  whom  was  a  terror.  From  our  camp,  sixteen  miles  south  of 
this  town,  two  of  our  pack-trains  were  sent  back  to  Lang's  Ranch,  New 
Mexico,  for  supplies.  To  our  surprise  a  deputy  United  States  marshal 
from  Tombstone  came  here  to  arrest  Dutchy.  Captain  Crawford  declined 
to  permit  the  arrest,  and  in  a  letter  to  the  marshal  (now  on  file  in  the 
State  Department)  asked  him  to  "  delay  the  arrest  till  I  may  be  near  the 
border  where  protection  for  myself,  officers  and  white  men,,  with  my  pack- 
trains,  may  be  afforded  by  United  States  troops  other  than  Indians," 
offering  to  return  if  desired.  The  scouts  were  intensely  excited,  and  under 
the  circumstances  the  marshal  did  not  wish  to  attempt  to  arrest  Dutchy, 
and  returned  without  delay. 

We  had  now  penetrated  over  two  hundred  miles  into  the  mountains  of 
Mexico,  and  we  were  sure  the  hostiles  were  near.  It  was  decided  to  move 
immediately  in  pursuit  of  them.  In  this  wild  and  unknown  land  even 
our  Indians  looked  more  stolid  and  serious.  One  by  one  they  gathered 
together  for  a  medicine  dance.  The  Medicine  Man,  Noh-wah-zhe-tah, 
unrolled  the  sacred  buckskin  he  had  worn  since  he  left  Apache.  There 
was  something  very  solemn  in  all  this.  The  dance,  the  marching,  the 
kneeling  before  the  sacred  buckskin  as  each  pressed  his  lips  to  it  and  the 
old  man  blessed  him,  impressed  us  too,  as  we  looked  on  in  silence.  After- 
ward, the  Indians  held  a  council.  They  said  they  meant  to  do  their  duty, 
and  would  prove  that  they  would  fight  to  those  who  said  they  would  not, 
and  they  seemed  very  much  in  earnest.  I  am  satisfied  that  they  desired 
to  get  the  hostiles  to  surrender,  but  do  -not  believe  they  intended  or  de- 
sired to  kill  them — their  own  people.  In  view  of  their  relations  it  was 
little  wonder  that  they  felt  in  this  way. 

It  was  decided  that  all  must  go  on  foot,  and  that  officer  and  scout 
alike  must  carry  his  own  blanket,  all  else  being  left  behind.  Leaving  a 
few  scouts  (the  weakest  and  the  sick)  to  guard  the  camp,  a  force  of 


454 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


seventy-nine  was  equipped  with  twelve  days'  rations,  carried  on  three  or 
four  of  the  toughest  mules  best  suited  for  the  purpose,  and  we  started 
forward.  We  marched  to  the  Haros  River,  which  we  forded,  and  then 
ascending  the  high  hills  beyond,  discovered  first  a  small  trail,  and  then  a 

large,  well-beaten  one,  evidently  that  of 
the  entire  band  of  hostiles.  'The  trail  was 
about  six  days  old,  and  as  we 
passed  over  it,  here  and  there, 
the  bodies  of  dead  cattle,  only 
partially  used,  were  found. 
The  hostiles  had  but  a 
short  time  pre- 
viously moved 
their  camp 
from  the  junc- 
tion of  the 
Haros  and 
Yaqui  Rivers  a 
few  miles  to 
the  west,  and 
were  going  to 
the  east  to  the 
fastnesses  of 
some  extremely 
rugged  moun- 
tains :  the  Es- 
pinosa  del  Diablo,  or  the 
Devil's  Backbone — a  most 
appropriate  name,  as  the 
country  was  broken  and 
rough  beyond  description. 
The  march  was  now  con- 
ducted mostly  by  night. 
We  suffered  much  from 
the  cold,  and  the  one  blanket  to  each  man  used  when  we  slept  was 
scanty  covering.  Often  it  was  impossible  to  sleep  at  all.  At  times  we 
made  our  coffee  and  cooked  our  food  in  the  daytime,  choosing  points 
where  the  light  could  not  be  seen,  and  using  dry  wood  to  avoid  smoke. 
Our  moccasins  were  thin  and  the  rocks  were  hard  on  the  feet.  Shoes 


CROSSING  THE  HAROS  KIVER. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  455 

had  been  abandoned,  as  the  noise  made  by  them  could  be  heard  a  long 
distance.  The  advance  scouts  kept  far  ahead.  Several  abandoned  camps 
of  the  hostiles  were  found,  the  selection  of  which  showed  their  constant 
care.  They  were  placed  on  high  points,  to  which  the  hostiles  ascended  in 
such  a  way  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  be  seen;  while  in  descending, 
any  pursuing  party  would  have  to  appear  in  full  view  of  the  lookout  they 
always  kept  in  the  rear.  The  labor  of  the  Indian  women  in  bringing  the 
water  and  wood  to  these  points  was  no  apparent  objection. 

Crossing  the  Haros  River  the  trail  led  direct  to  the  Devil's  Back- 
bone, situated  between  the  Haros  and  Satachi  Rivers.  The  difficulties  of 
marching  over  a  country  like  this  by  night,  where  it  was  necessary  to 
climb  over  rocks  and  to  descend  into  deep  and  dark  canons,  can  hardly  be 
imagined.  When  we  halted,  which  was  sometimes  not  until  midnight,  we 
were  sore  and  tired.  We  could  never  move  until  late  in  the  day,  as  it  was 
necessary  to  examine  the  country  a  long  distance  ahead  before  we  started. 
No  human  being  seemed  ever  to  have  been  here.  Deer  were  plentiful,  but 
we  could  not  shoot  them.  Once  I  saw  a  leopard  that  bounded  away  with 
a  shriek.  It  was  spotted  and  seemed  as  large  as  a  tiger.  At  last,  after  a 
weary  march,  at  sunset  on  the  9th  of  January,  1886,  Noche,  our  Indian 
sergeant-major  and  guide,  sent  word  that  the  hostile  camp  was  located 
twelve  miles  away. 

The  command  was  halted,  and  as  the  hostiles  were  reported  camped 
on  a  high  point,  well  protected  and  apparently  showing  great  caution  on 
their  part,  it  was  decided  to  make  a  night  march  and  attack  them  at  day- 
light. A  short  halt  of  about  twenty  minutes  was  made.  We  did  not 
kindle  a  fire,  and  about  the  only  food  we  had  was  some  hard  bread  and 
some  raw  bacon.  The  medical  officer,  Dr.  Davis,  was  worn  out,  and  the 
interpreter  also  unfortunately  could  go  no  further.  We  had  already 
marched  continuously  for  about  six  hours  and  were  very  much  worn  out 
and  footsore,  even  the  scouts  showing  the  fatigue  of  the  hard  service. 
These  night  marches,  when  we  followed  a  trail  purposely  made  over  the 
worst  country  possible,  and  crossing  and  recrossing  the  turbulent  river, 
which  we  had  to  ford,  were  very  trying.  But  the  news  of  the  camp  being 
so  close  at  hand  gave  us  new  strength  and  hope,  and  we  hastened  on  to 
cover  the  ten  or  twelve  miles  between  us  and  the  hostiles.  I  cannot  easily  for- 
get that  night's  march.  All  night  long  we  toiled  on,  feeling  our  way.  It  was 
a  dark  and  moonless  night.  For  much  of  the  distance  the  way  led  over 
solid  rock,  over  mountains,  down  canons  so  dark  they  seemed  bottomless. 
It  was  a  wonder  the  scouts  could  find  the  trail.  Sometimes  the  descent 


456  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

became  so  steep  that  we  could  not  go  forward,  but  would  have  to  wearily 
climb  back  and  find  another  way.  I  marched  by  poor  Captain  Crawford, 
who  was  badly  worn  out;  often  he  stopped  and  leaned  heavily  on  his  rifle 
for  support,  and  again  he  used  it  for  a  cane  to  assist  him.  He  had,  how- 
ever, an  unconquerable  will,  and  kept  slowly  on.  At  last,  when  it  was 
nearly  daylight,  we  could  see  in  the  distance  the  dim  outlines  of  the  rocky 
position  occupied  by  the  hostiles.  I  had  a  strong  feeling  of  relief,  for  I 
certainly  was  very  tired.  We  had  marched  continuously  eighteen  hours 
over  a  country  so  difficult  that  when  we  reached  their  camp  Geronimo 
said  he  felt  that  he  had  no  longer  a  place  where  the  white  man  would 
not  pursue  him. 

The  command  was  now  quickly  disposed  for  an  attack,  our  first  object 
being  to  surround  the  hostile  camp.  I  was  sent  around  to  the  further 
side.  Noiselessly,  scarcely  breathing,  we  crept  along.  It  was  still  dark. 
It  seemed  strange  to  be  going  to  attack  these  Indians  with  a  force  of  their 
own  kindred  who  but  a  short  time  before  had  been  equally  as  criminal.  I 
had  nearly  reached  the  further  side,  intending  to  cut  off  the  retreat,  when 
the  braying  of  some  burros  was  heard.  These  watch  dogs  of  an  Indian 
camp  are  better  than  were  the  geese  of  Rome.  I  hurried  along.  The  faint 
light  of  the  morning  was  just  breaking,  and  I  held  my  breath  for  fear  the 
alarm  would  be  given,  when  all  at  once  the  flames  bursting  from  the  rifles 
of  some  of  the  hostiles  who  had  gone  to  investigate  the  cause  of  the  bray- 
ing of  the  burros,  and  the  echoing  and  reechoing  of  the  rifle  reports 
through  the  mountains,  told  me  that  the  camp  was  in  arms.  Dim  forms 
could  be  seen  rapidly  descending  the  mountain  sides  and  disappearing  be- 
low. A  large  number  came  my  way  within  easy  range, —  less  than  two 
hundred  yards.  We  fired  many  shots  but  I  saw  no  one  fall.  One  Indian 
attempted  to  ride  by  me  on  a  horse;  I  fired  twice  at  him,  when  he  aband- 
oned the  horse  and  disappeared;  the  horse  was  shot,  but  I  never  knew  what 
became  of  the  Indian.  We  pursued  for  a  time,  but  as  few  of  our  Indian 
scouts  could  have  gone  farther,  we  had  to  give  up  the  pursuit.  The 
hostiles,  like  so  many  quail,  had  disappeared  among  the  rocks.  One 
by  one  our  scouts  returned.  We  had  captured  the  entire  herd,  all 
the  camp  effects  and  what  little  food  they  had,  consisting  of  some 
mescal,  some  fresh  pony  meat,  a  small  part  of  a  deer  and  a  little  dried 
meat,  which  the  scouts  seized  and  began  to  devour.  I  had  no  desire  for 
food.  Every  one  was  worn  out  and  it  was  cold  and  damp.  In  a  little 
while  an  Indian  woman  came  in  and  said  that  Geronimo  and  Natchez 
desired  to  talk.  She  begged  food,  and  left  us  bearing  word  that  Captain 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


457 


Crawford  would  see  the  chiefs  next  day.  The  conference  was  to  be  held 
about  a  mile  away  on  the  river  below  our  position,  and  he  desired  me  to 
be  present.  What  would  have  been  the  result  of  this  conference  will 
never  be  known  on  account  of  the  unfortunate  attack  of  the  Mexicans 
next  day.  It  was  fortunate  that  we  occupied  the  strong 
position  of  the  hostile  camp.  Our  packs  as  well  as  the 
doctor  and  interpreter  had  been  sent  for,  but  unfortu- 
nately they  did  not  arrive  that  night. 

We  built  fires 
and  tried  to  ob- 
tain a  little  rest, 
but  I  could  not 
sleep  on  account 
of  the  intense 
cold,  and,  besides, 
we  had  been  with- 
out food  for  many 
hours ;  in  fact,  we 
had  not  partaken 
of  cooked  food  for 

days.    With  the  ___  _™»^^ 

continual  march-  ^T  **|^ 
ing  day  and  night 
no  wonder  our  In- 
dians were  tired 
out  and  now  threw 
themselves  among 
the  rocks  to  sleep, 
failing  to  main- 
tain their  usual  vigil- 
ance. We  had  no  fear 
of  an  attack.  At  daylight  the 
next  morning  the  camp  was 
aroused  by  loud  cries  from 
some  of  our  scouts.  Lieutenant  Shipp  and  I,  with  a  white  man 
named  Horn  employed  as  chief-of-scouts  for  my  companies,  ran  for- 
ward to  ascertain  the  cause  of  alarm.  We  thought  at  first  that 
the  disturbance  must  have  been  occasioned  by  the  scouts  of  Cap- 
tain Wirt  Davis.  A  heavy  fog  hung  over  the  mountains,  making  the 


ONE  IXDIAX  ATTEMPTED  TO  RIDE  BY  ME. 


458  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

morning  light  very  faint.  But  by  ascending  the  rocks  we  could  see 
the  outlines  of  dusky  forms  moving  in  the  distance.  Then  all  at  once 
there  was  a  crash  of  musketry  and  the  flames  from  many  rifles  lighted 
up  the  scene.  In  that  discharge  three  of  our  scouts  were  wounded,  one  very 
badly,  and  we  quickly  sought  cover.  The  thought  that  it  was  our  own  friends 
who  were  attacking  us  was  agonizing  and  we  had  not  the  heart  to  retaliate, 
but  the  scouts  kept  up  a  desultory  fire  until  Captain  Crawford,  whom  we 
had  left  lying  by  the  camp  fire,  shouted  to  us  to  stop.  In  about  fifteen 
minutes  the  firing  ceased  and  it  now  became  known  that  the  attacking 
party  were  Mexicans,  a  detachment  of  whom,  about  thirteen,  were  seen 
approaching,  four  of  them  coming  toward  the  rocks  where  we  were.  As  I 
spoke  Spanish,  I  advanced  about  fifty  or  seventy-five  yards  to  meet  them 
and  was  followed  by  Captain  Crawford.  I  told  them  who  we  were  and  of 
our  fight  with  the  hostiles,  that  we  had  just  captured  their  camp,  etc. 
Captain  Crawford,  who  did  not  speak  Spanish,  now  asked  if  I  had  explained 
all  to  them.  I  told  him  I  had.  At  this  time  we  were  all  standing  within 
a  few  feet  of  each  other. 

The  officer  commanding  the  Mexicans  was  Major  Corredor,  a  tall, 
powerful  man  over  six  feet  high,  and  he  acted  as  spokesman.  Looking  to 
the  rocks  we  could  see  the  heads  of  many  of  our  Indian  scouts  with  their 
rifles  ready,  and  could  hear  the  sharp  snap  of  the  breechblocks  as  the 
cartridges  were  inserted.  I  can  well  recall  the  expression  on  the  faces  of 
these  Mexicans,  for  they  thought  our  scouts  were  going  to  fire  ;  indeed  I 
thought  so  myself.  At  the  same  time  I  noticed  a  party  of  Mexicans  march- 
ing in  a  low  ravine  toward  a  high  point  which  commanded  and  enfiladed 
our  position,  about  four  hundred  yards  distant.  I  called  Captain  Crawford's 
attention  to  this  as  well  as  to  the  aspect  of  our  own  scouts.  He  said,  "  For 
God's  sake,  don't  let  them  fire  !"  Major  Corredor  also  said,  "No  tiras;" 
-Don't  fire.  I  said  to  him,  "No,"  and  told  him  not  to  let  his  men  fire. 
I  then  turned  toward  the  scouts  saying  in  Spanish  "  Don't  fire,"  holding  my 
hand  toward  them.  They  nearly  all  understood  Spanish  while  they  did 
not  speak  it.  I  had  taken  a  few  steps  forward  to  carry  out  the  Captain's 
instructions,  when  one  shot  rang  out  distinct  and  alone  ;  the  echoes  were 
such  that  I  could  not  tell  where  it  came  from,  but  it  sounded  like  a  death 
knell  and  was  followed  by  volleys  from  both  sides.  As  we  all  sought  cover, 
I  looked  back  just  in  time  to  see  the  tall  Mexican  throw  down  his  rifle 
and  fall,  shot  through  the  heart.  Another  Mexican,  Lieutenant  Juan  de 
La  Cruz,  fell  as  he  ran,  pierced  by  thirteen  bullets.  The  other  two  ran 
behind  a  small  oak,  but  it  was  nearly  cut  down  by  bullets  and  they  were 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  459 

both  killed.  About  nine  or  ten  others  who  were  in  view  rapidly  got  close 
to  the  ground  or  in  hollows  behind  rocks,  which  alone  saved  them  as  they 
were  near,  and  formed  a  portion  of  the  party  that  advanced.  Upon  reach- 
ing the  rocks  where  I  had  sought  shelter,  I  found  Captain  Crawford  lying 
with  his  head  pierced  by  a  ball.  His  brain  was  running  down  his  face  and 
some  of  it  lay  on  the  rocks.  He  must  have  been  shot  just  as  he  reached 
and  mounted  the  rocks.  Over  his  face  lay  a  red  handkerchief  at  which  his 
hand  clutched  in  a  spasmodic  way.  Dutchy  stood  near  him.  I  thought 
him  dead,  and  sick  at  heart  I  gave  my  attention  to  the  serious  conditions 
existing.  The  fall  of  Captain  Crawford  was  a  sad  and  unfortunate  event, 
greatly  to  be  deplored,  and  cast  a  gloom  over  us  which  we  could  not 
shake  off. 

Being  next  in  command,  I  hastened  to  send  scouts  to  prevent  the  attack 
attempted  on  our  right  above  referred  to,  and  after  an  interval  of  about  two 
hours  the  Mexicans  were  driven  entirely  away  and  the  firing  gradually 
ceased.  They  now  occupied  a  strong  line  of  hills,  with  excellent  shelter, 
were  double  our  strength,  and  were  armed  with  calibre  44  Remington 
rifles,  which  carried  a  cartridge  similar  to  our  own.  Our  command  was 
without  rations  and  nearly  without  ammunition,  the  one  beltful  supplied 
to  each  scout  having  in  many  cases  been  entirely  exhausted  in  the  two 
fights.  It  was  true  that  many  of  them  had  extra  rounds,  but  I  estimated 
that  between  four  and  five  thousand  rounds  had  been  fired  and  that  some 
of  the  men  had  none  left. 

The  Mexicans  now  called  to  us  saying  they  would  like  to  talk,  but  they 
were  too  cautious  to  advance.  When  Mr.  Horn  and  I  went  forward,  to 
talk  to  them,  three  or  four  advanced  to  meet  us  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  from  our  position.  The  brother  of  the  lieutenant  who  had  been 
killed  was  crying  bitterly,  and  the  whole  party  seemed  a  most  forlorn 
company  of  men,  and  sincere  in  saying  that  they  thought  we  were 
the  hostiles.  All  their  officers  were  killed,  and  I  believe  others  be- 
sides, but  how  many  we  never  knew.  The  fact  that  our  command  was 
composed  almost  entirely  of  Indians  was  a  most  unfortunate  one.  With 
regular  soldiers  all  would  have  been  clear.  Our  position  at  this  time,  con- 
fronted as  we  were  by  a  hostile  Mexican  force,  while  behind  us  was  the  en- 
tire hostile  band  of  Indians  evidently  enjoying  the  situation,  is  probably 
unparalleled.  We  had  scarcely  any  ammunition,  no  food,  and  our  supplies 
were  with  the  pack-train  almost  unprotected — no  one  knew  where — while 
we  were  many  days'  march  from  our  own  country,  which  could  only  be 
reached  through  a  territory  hostile  to  our  Indians.  The  governor  of  Sonora 

M.— 27 


460  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

had  made  serious  charges  against  the  Indians  for  depredations  committed 
on  the  march  down,  and  besides,  there  was  a  bitter  feeling  existing  caused  by 
this  fight.  If  the  Mexicans  had  attacked  us  in  the  rear,  where  we  were  en- 
tirely unprotected,  our  position  would  have  been  untenable.  Had  such  an 
attack  been  made  the  result  would  probably  have  been  the  scat- 
tering of  our  command  in  the  mountains,  our  Chiricahuas  joining  the 
hostiles. 

It  looked  very  serious,  and  my  future  course  was  governed  by  the  con- 
dition. If  it  were  possible  I  was  bound  to  protect  the  lives  of  the  white 
men  of  the  command,  the  pack-train,  and  our  Indian  scouts.  Lieutenant 
Shipp  and  I  were  in  accord,  he  appreciating  as  I  did  our  desperate  position. 
The  first  attack  had  been  a  mistake,  and  the  second  had  been  brought  on 
before  the  Mexicans  could  know  what  had  been  said  to  their  officers  who 
had  been  killed.  The  Mexicans  deplored  the  affair  and  seemed  sincere. 
I  felt  a  pity  for  them.  They  asked  me  to  go  with  them  while  they  carried 
their  dead  away.  A  small  detail  took  the  bodies  one  by  one  to  their  lines, 
and  I  went  with  each  body.  They  then  asked  me  to  send  our  doctor  to 
care  for  their  wounded,  and  to  loan  them  enough  of  the  captured  stock 
to  carry  their  wounded  back.  I  agreed  to  do  this,  but  could  give  them  no 
food,  which  they  also  asked.  Late  in  the  day  the  doctor  arrived,  and  after 
he  had  attended  to  our  wounded  I  sent  him  to  look  after  theirs,  some  of 
whom  were  in  a  dangerous  way.  He  attended  five  of  them. 

The  next  day  I  decided  to  move  on,  as  the  surgeon  said  that  the  death 
of  Captain  Crawford  was  a  matter  of  but  a  little  time,  and  our  condition 
made  it  necessary  for  us  to  try  and  reach  our  pack-train  for  supplies  and 
ammunition.  I  was  afraid  that  the  Mexicans  might  take  our  pack-train, 
as  it  had  but  a  poor  escort  of  the  weak  and  sick.  Besides,  most  of  the 
packers  had  been  armed  with  calibre  50  carbines  (Sharps),  while  they  had 
been  supplied  with  calibre  45  ammunition.  I  was  in  hopes  that  when  away 
from  the  Mexicans  I  might  succeed  in  effecting  a  conference  with  the 
hostile  chiefs,  and  possibly  a  surrender.  This  could  not  be  done  while  the 
Mexicans  were  near,  and  they  would  not  move  before  we  did,  as  they  said 
they  were  afraid  they  might  be  attacked  by  the  scouts.  In  order  to  move 
Captain  Crawford,  I  had  to  make  a  litter  and  have  him  carried  by  hand. 
As  there  was  no  wood  in  the  country,  I  sent  to  the  river  and  got  canes, 
which  we  bound  together  to  make  the  side  rails,  using  a  piece  of  canvas 
for  the  bed. 

While  busy  attending  to  the  making  of  this,  I  heard  someone  calling, 
and  going  out  a  short  distance,  saw  Concepcion,  the  interpreter,  standing 


GERONIMO. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  463 

with  some  Mexicans  about  two  hundred  yards  away.  He  beckoned  to  me 
and  I  went  forward  to  talk  to  the  men,  as  I  was  the  only  one  who  could 
speak  Spanish,  Horn  being  wounded.  I  had  sent  Concepcion  to  drive  back 
some  of  the  captured  Indian  stock  which  had  wandered  off  during  the 
fight.  As  I  advanced  toward  the  Mexicans  they  saluted  me  very  cour- 
teously, and  in  a  friendly  way  said  that  before  they  left  they  wanted  to 
have  a  talk.  It  was  raining  and  they  asked  me  to  step  under  a  sheltering 
rock  near  by  ;  this  was  the  very  point  from  which  they  had  first  fired.  On 
stepping  under  the  rock,  I  found  myself  confronted  with  about  fifty 
Mexicans,  all  armed  with  Remington  rifles,  and  a  hard  looking  lot.  I 
would  here  state  that  I  had  sent  them,  according  to  my  promise,  six  of  the 
captured  Indian  horses,  which,  however,  they  had  not  received,  as  they 
said  the  horses  were  no  good,  being  wounded  and  worn  out ;  but  of  this  I 
did  not  know  at  the  time.  Old  Concepcion  was  detained  by  them.  He 
was  a  Mexican  who  had  been  stolen  by  the  Apaches  when  a  boy,  and  was 
employed  as  an  interpreter,  as  he  knew  the  Apache  language. 

The  manner  of  the  Mexicans  when  they  found  me  in  their  power  had 
undergone  a  marked  change.  They  became  insolent,  stating  that  we  had 
killed  their  officers  and  that  we  were  marauders  and  had  no  authority  in 
their  country.  They  demanded  my  papers.  I  explained  that  there  was  a 
treaty  between  Mexico  and  the  United  States,  but  that  I  had  no  papers,  as 
Captain  Crawford  had  left  all  our  baggage  with  the  pack-train.  Their 
language  was  insolent  and  threatening.  I  now  appreciated  my  position 
and  realized  that  the  consequence  of  my  being  away  from  the  command 
with  the  interpreter  was  that  there  was  no  one  with  the  scouts  who  could 
make  himself  understood  by  them.  The  Mexicans  stated  that  I  had 
promised  them  animals  to  take  back  their  wounded,  and  had  not  furnished 
them,  as  those  I  had  sent  were  worthless.  I  told  them  I  would  send  them 
other  animals  on  my  return,  and  started  to  go,  when  they  surrounded  me, 
saying  that  I  must  remain  until  I  had  sent  the  mules. 

By  this  time  our  Indians  were  yelling  and  preparing  to  fight.  A  few 
shots  would  have  precipitated  matters.  The  Mexicans  called  my  attention 
to  the  action  of  my  scouts,  and  I  told  them  that  the  Indians  evidently 
feared  treachery  and  that  I  could  not  control  them  while  away.  They 
then  said  I  could  go  if  I  would  send  them  six  mules,  after  which  they 
would  leave  the  country.  This  I  promised  I  would  do,  but  they  would  not 
trust  my  word  of  honor  and  held  old  Concepcion  a  prisoner  till  I  sent  them 
the  mules.  I  demanded  a  receipt,  which  they  gave,  and  afterward  Mexico 
paid  our  government  the  full  value  of  the  animals. 


464 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


It  was  now  too  late  in  the  day  to  move,  but  the  next  morning  I  pro- 
ceeded on  the  homeward  march,  carrying  Captain  Crawford  by  hand.  The 
Indians,  always  superstitious,  did  not  want  to  help,  but  were  persuaded, 
Lieutenant  Shipp  and  I  also  assisting.  To  add  to  the  difficulty,  it  was  the 
rainy  season  and  the  steep  mountain  sides  were  climbed  most  laboriously. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  describe  this  march. 
With  great  effort,  the  first  day  we  only  made 
two  or  three  miles.  The  wounded  Indian 
was  placed  on  a  pony,   and  although 


OUR  INDIANS  WERE  YELLING  AND  PREPARING  TO  FIGHT. 

badly  hurt,  seemed  to  get  along  very  well.    The  two  other  wounded  scouts 
and  Mr.  Horn  were  so  slightly  injured  that  they  moved  with  no  trouble. 

An  Indian  woman  came  into  camp  that  night  and  said  that  Geronimo 
wanted  to  talk.  I  concluded  to  meet  him,  and  the  next  morning,  after 
moving  about  two  miles,  I  left  the  command  and  went  with  the  interpre- 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  465 

ter.  Mr.  Horn,  and  five  scouts,  to  a  point  about  a  mile  or  so  distant.  We 
went  without  arms  as  this  was  expressly  stipulated  by  Geronimo  as  a  con- 
dition. The  chiefs  did  not  appear,  but  I  had  a  talk  with  two  of  the  men, 
who  promised  that  the  chiefs  would  meet  me  the  next  day.  They  said  I 
must  come  without  arms.  The  next  day  I  went  to  meet  them  and  found 
Geronimo,  Natchez,  Nana  and  Chihuahua  with  fourteen  men.  They  came 
fully  armed  with  their  belts  full  of  ammunition,  and  as  I  had  come 
unarmed  according  to  agreement,  this  was  a  breach  of  faith  and  I  did  not 
think  it  argued  well  for  their  conduct.  Apparently  suspicious  of  treach- 
ery, every  man  of  them  sat  with  his  ritie  in  an  upright  position,  forming  a 
circle  nearly  around  me  with  Geronimo  in  the  center.  He  sat  there  for 
fully  a  minute  looking  me  straight  in  the  eyes  and  finally  said  to  me: 

"Why  did  you  come  down  here?" 

"  I  came  to  capture  or  destroy  you  and  your  band,"  I  answered. 

He  knew  perfectly  well  that  this  was  the  only  answer  I  could  truth- 
fully make.  He  then  arose,  walked  to  me  and  shook  my  hand,  saying  that 
he  could  trust  me,  and  then  asked  me  to  report  to  the  department  com- 
mander what  he  had  to  say.  He  enumerated  his  grievances  at  the 
agency,  all  of  which  were  purely  imaginary  or  assumed.  I  advised  him  to 
surrender  and  told  him  if  he  did  not  that  neither  the  United  States 
troops  nor  the  Mexicans  would  let  him  rest.  He  agreed  to  surrender  to 
me  Nana,  one  other  man,  his  (Geronimo's)  wife,  and  one  of  Natchez's 
wives,  with  some  of  their  children,  nine  in  all,  and  promised  to  meet  Gen- 
eral Crook  near  San  Bernardino  in  two  moons  to  talk  about  surrendering. 
With  this  understanding  I  returned  to  camp.  In  a  short  time  he  sent  the 
prisoners  with  the  request  that  I  give  him  a  little  sugar  and  flour.  This 
request  I  complied  with,  having  in  the  meantime  sent  some  of  my  scouts 
for  the  pack-train,  which  they  had  found  and  brought  back.  Here, 
almost  at  midnight,  I  was  awakened  by  the  scouts  who  had  assembled  say- 
ing that  they  had  seen  the  Mexicans  approaching  to  attack  us,  and 
that  they  must  have  ammunition.  I  had  not  intended  to  issue  any  more 
just  then,  as  we  only  had  about  three  thousand  rounds  left,  but  they 
begged  so  hard  that  I  finally  issued  one  thousand  rounds,  though  I  could 
hardly  believe  this  report.  No  Mexicans  appeared.  The  hostiles  had 
plenty  of  money  and  it  was  afterward  reported  that  our  scouts  had  sold 
them  ammunition  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  per  round. 

The  next  day  we  continued  on  our  march,  which  was  very  difficult  on 
account  of  our  being  encumbered  with  our  wounded.  On  the  17th  of 
January,  while  sitting  with  Captain  Crawford,  he  opened  his  eyes  and 


466 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


looked  me  straight  in  the  face  and  then  pressed  my  hand.  No  doubt  he 
was  conscious,  and  I  tried  to  get  him  to  speak  or  write,  but  he  could  not. 
I  assured  him  I  would  do  all  in  my  power  to  arrange  his  affairs,  and  he 
put  his  arm  around  me  and  drew  me  to  him,  but  could  only  shake  his 
head  in  answer.  This  conscious  interval  only  lasted  about  five  minutes, 
and  then  the  look  of  intelligence  seemed  to  pass  away  forever.  The  next 
day  he  died  while  we  were  on  the  march,  passing  away 
so  quietly  that  no  one  knew  the  exact  time  of  his  death. 

We  wrapped  the  body  in  canvas 
=<    '  ;  ":^x          and  placed  it  on  one  of  the  pack 


mules.  We 
now  moved 
morerapidly. 
but  when  we  reached 
the  Satachi  River  we 
could  not  cross  it,  as 
it  was  swollen  by  the  late  rains 
and  was  deep  and  turbulent. 
We  were  thus  forced  to  go  into 
camp  and  lose  a  day.  In  the  meantime  the  body  of  Captain  Crawford 
began  to  decompose,  so  we  hurried  on,  crossing  the  river  the  next  day  and 
on  the  day  following  reached  Nacori.  Here  we  buried  Captain  Crawford, 
putting  his  body  in  charge  of  the  Presidente  of  the  town  and  marking  well 
the  place  of  his  burial.  I  could  only  get  four  boards  (slabs)  in  the  town 
and  used  them  in  making  a  coffin,the  body  being  wrapped  securely  in  canvas. 


THE  DEATH  OF  CAPTAIN  CRAWFORD. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  467 

The  disposition  of  the  people  was  decidedly  unfriendly,  and  at  Baserac 
and  Bavispe  about  two  hundred  of  the  local  troops  were  assembled  with 
hostile  intent.  To  add  to  the  trouble,  the  scouts  obtained  mescal  and  were 
very  unruly.  I  had  to  use  great  care  to  prevent  a  conflict  at  Baserac.  I 
was  obliged  to  pass  through  the  town,  as  there  was  a  mountain  on  one  side 
and  a  river  on  the  other.  The  officials  refused  at  first  to  let  me  pass,  but 
I  moved  some  of  the  troops  through,  supported  by  the  remainder,  and 
avoided  a  conflict.  At  Bavispe  the  Indians  obtained  a  large  quantity  of 
mescal,  and  the  civil  authorities  tried  to  take  our  captured  stock.  I  sent 
them  out  of  the  camp,  and  had  they  not  left  when  they  did  I  am  sure  the 
intoxicated  Indians  would  have  fired  upon  them.  Here  occurred  a  quarrel 
between  a  company  of  White  Mountain  Indian  scouts  and  one  of 
Chiricahuas.  They  loaded  their  rifles  to  fire  upon  each  other,  while  the 
first  sergeants  of  the  two  companies  fought  between  the  lines,  but  I  finally 
succeeded  in  quelling  the  disturbance.  The  next  day  I  hurried  away,  and 
without  further  difficulty  reached  Lang's  Ranch,  arriving  there  on  the  first 
day  of  February.  Up  to  that  time  we  had  marched  over  one  thousand 
miles. 

I  was  ordered  to  return,  February  5,  to  Mexico  and  look  out  for  the 
hostiles,  who  had  agreed  to  signal  their  return.  I  camped  about  ten  miles 
south  of  the  line  on  the  San  Bernardino  River,  and  remained  there  until  the 
15th  of  March,  when  a  signal  was  observed  on  a  high  point  about  twenty 
miles  south.  I  went  out  with  four  or  five  scouts  and  met  some  messengers 
from  Geronimo  and  Natchez,  near  the  point  from  which  the  signal  had 
been  made.  They  informed  me  that  the  entire  band  of  hostiles  were  then 
about  forty  miles  away,  camped  in  the  mountains  near  Fronteras.  I  told 
them  to  return  and  bring  Geronimo  and  his  band  at  once,  as  the  Mexicans 
were  in  pursuit  and  liable  to  attack  them  at  any  time.  On  the  nineteenth 
the  entire  band  came  and  camped  about  half  a  mile  from  my  command. 
One  more  warrior  with  his  wife  and  two  children  gave  themselves  up,  and 
I  now  had  thirteen  prisoners.  I  endeavored  to  persuade  Geronimo  and  his 
band  to  go  into  Fort  Bowie,  telling  them  they  were  liable  to  be  attacked 
by  Mexican  troops,  but  could  only  induce  them  to  move  with  me  to  the 
Canon  de  los  Embudos,  about  twelve  miles  below  the  border,  where  they 
camped  in  a  strong  position  among  the  rocks  a  half  a  mile  away. 

I  had  notified  the  department  commander  upon  the  arrival  of  the 
messengers  on  the  15th,  and  on  the  29th  he  arrived  at  my  camp.  In  the 
interval,  however,  before  General  Crook  arrived,  Geronimo  had  almost 
daily  come  into  my  camp  to  talk  to  me  and  ask  when  the  general  would 


468  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

get  there.  On  his  arrival  a  conference  was  held  and  the  hostiles  promised 
they  would  surrender.  General  Crook  then  returned,  directing  me  to  bring 
them  in.  This  I  endeavored  to  do,  but  this  surrender  was  only  an  agree- 
ment, no  arms  being  taken  from  them,  nor  were  they  any  more  in  my  pos- 
session than  when  I  had  met  them  in  the  Sierra  Madre  Mountains.  It  was 
believed,  however,  that  they  would  come  in.  Unfortunately,  they  obtained 
liquor,  and  all  night  on  the  27th  I  could  hear  firing  in  their  camp  a  mile 
or  so  away.  I  sent  my  command  on,  and,  accompanied  only  by  the  inter- 
preter, waited  for  the  hostiles  to  move,  but  they  were  in  a  bad  hu- 
mor. They  moved  their  camp  at  noon  that  day  and  I  then  left. 
I  met  Geronimo  and  a  number  of  warriors  gathered  together  near  by  on 
Elias  Creek,  many  of  them  being  drunk,  and  Geronimo  told  me  they 
would  follow,  but  that  I  had  better  go  on  or  he  would  not  be  responsible 
for  my  life.  I  then  proceeded  to  my  camp.  I  had  ordered  the  battalion  to 
camp  at  a  point  ten  miles  on  the  way  back  on  the  San  Bernardino.  That 
afternoon  the  hostiles  came  up  and  camped  about  half  a  mile  above  me 
in  a  higher  position. 

I  went  into  their  camp  and  found  trouble.  Natchez  had  shot  his  wife, 
and  they  were  all  drinking  heavily.  I  sent  Lieutenant  Shipp  with  a 
detail  to  destroy  all  the  mescal  at  a  ranch  near  by,  where  they  had  pre- 
viously obtained  all  their  liquor.  During  the  day  all  seemed  quiet,  but  at 
night  a  few  shots  were  heard.  I  sent  to  find  out  the  cause  and  found  the 
trouble  was  over  some  women;  this  trouble  soon  ceased,  however,  and 
quiet  was  restored.  I  felt  anxious  about  the  next  day's  march,  as  I  would 
then  cross  the  line  and  be  near  troops.  The  next  morning  I  was  awakened 
and  told  that  the  hostiles  were  gone.  I  caused  a  careful  search  to  be 
made,  and  ascertained  that  Geronimo  and  Natchez  with  twenty  men, 
thirteen  women  and  two  children  had  gone  during  the  night,  and  not  a 
soul  as  far  as  I  could  ascertain,  knew  anything  of  the  time  they  had  gone, 
or  that  they  had  intended  to  go.  Chihuahua,  Ulzahney,  Nana,  Catley,  nine 
other  men,  and  forty-seven  women  and  children  remained.  The  herd  was 
brought  in,  and  only  three  of  their  horses  were  missing.  I  directed  Lieu- 
tenant Faison,  with  a  sufficient  detail,  to  take  the  remaining  hostiles  to  Fort 
Bowie;  then,  with  all  the  available  men  left,  Lieutenant  Shipp  and  I  at 
once  started  in  pursuit. 

About  six  miles  from  camp  we  struck  the  trail  going  due  west  over  a 
chain  of  high  mountains.  This  gave  us  a  full  view  of  the  mountains  in 
all  directions,  but  the  trail  suddenly  changed  its  direction  to  the  south  and 
went  down  a  steep  and  diffi  cult  descent,  across  a  basin  so  dense  with  chapparel 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


469 


and  cut  up  with  ravines  as  to  make  travel  very  difficult  and  slow,  espe- 
cially as  every  bush  was  full  of  thorns  which  tore  ourselves  and  animals. 
Across  this  basin,  about  ten  miles,  the  trail    ascended    a  high  mountain, 
very  steep  and  rocky.     The  trail  of  the  one  horse  with  the  hostiles  in- 
duced us  to  think  it  might  be  possible  to  ride;  but  after  reaching  the  top 
we  found  this  horse  stabbed 
and    abandoned     among    the 
rocks;  they    were   unable   to 
take  it  farther.  Be- 
yond, the  descent 
was  vertical  and  of 


solid  rock 
from  fifty  to 
three  hun- 

'dred  feet  high  for  miles 
each  way.  Here  the  trail 
was  lost,  the  Indians  having  scattered 
and  walked  entirely  on  the  rocks. 
No  doubt  our  pursuit  had  been  discov- 
ered from  this  point  when  we  crossed  the  mountain  on  the  other  side  of  the 
basin,  ten  miles  away.  These  Indians  were  well  supplied  with  telescopes 
and  glasses,  and  a  watch  had  doubtless  been  maintained  here  according 
to  their  usual  custom.  It  is  in  this  way,  by  selecting  their  line  of  march 
over  these  high  points,  that  their  retreat  can  always  be  watched  and 


APACHES  WATCHING  THE  TROOPS  WITH 
GLASSES. 


470  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

danger  avoided.  In  the  same  way  they  watch  the  country  for  miles  in  ad- 
vance. These  never- failing  precautions  may  serve  to  show  how  diffi- 
cult is  the  chance  of  catching  these  men,  who  once  alarmed  are 
like  wild  animals,  with  their  sense  of  sight  and  of  hearing  as  keenly 
developed. 

We  could  not  descend  here,  so  we  were  obliged  to  retrace  our  steps 
down  the  mountain  and  make  a  circuit  of  ten  miles  to  again  strike  the 
trail  beyond.  This  we  did,  but  when  the  stream  beyond  was  reached  it 
was  dark,  and  further  pursuit  that  night  was  impossible.  The  next 
morning  we  moved  down  the  creek,  cutting  the  trails  which  had 
come  together  about  four  miles  below,  and  we  followed  this  for 
about  ten  miles  to  the  south.  The  hostiles  had  not  stopped  from  the 
time  they  had  left,  and  now  had  made  about  forty-five  miles  and  had 
good  ten  hours  the  start.  The  trail  here  split  and  one  part,  the  larger, 
crossed  over  the  broken  mountains  north  of  Bavispe,  into  the  Sierra 
Madres,  while  the  other  crossed  into  the  mountains  north  of 
Fronteras. 

The  scouts  now  seemed  discouraged.  Their  moccasins  were  worn  out 
by  the  constant  hard  work  of  the  past  five  months,  and  the  prospect  of 
returning  to  the  scenes  of  their  last  trials  was  not  inviting.  Besides, 
their  discharge  would  take  place  in  about  one  month.  They  appealed  to 
me  to  go  no  further,  telling  me  that  it  was  useless,  etc.  This  I  appreciated 
and  decided  to  return.  We  then  retraced  our  way  and  continued  the 
homeward  march.  While  returning,  two  of  the  escaped  hostiles  joined 
me  and  gave  themselves  up.  I  arrived  at  Fort  Bowie  on  the  3d  of  April. 
The  results  of  the  expedition  were  by  no  means  unimportant  as  we  had 
secured  the  larger  part  of  the  hostiles,  seventy-nine  in  all,  of  whom  fifteen 
were  warriors. 

I  cannot  speak  too  highly  of  the  noble  and  soldierly  qualities  of  Captain 
Crawford,  killed  by  Mexican  troops  while  doing  all  in  his  power  to  help 
them.  He  was  ever  ready,  ever  brave  and  loyal  in  the  performance  of  his 
duty,  and  his  loss  was  indeed  a  serious  one. 

Lieutenant  Shipp  suffered  all  the  hardships  of  the  campaign,  and  his 
services  are  entitled  to  high  consideration. 

Lieutenant  Faison  showed  much  ability  and  energy  in  supplying  the 
command  and  in  handling  the  trains.  While  not  with  the  command 
during  the  action  with  the  Indians  and  Mexicans,  his  duty  was  not  only  a 
hard  one,  but  full  of  danger  and  suffering. 

Doctor  Davis  was  very  faithful  and  efficient. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  471 

I  cannot  commend  too  highly  Mr.  Horn,  my  chief  of  scouts;  his  gallant 
services  deserve  a  reward  which  he  has  never  received.* 


Meanwhile,  the  closing  scenes  above  described  by  Captain  Maus,  and 
the  condition  of  affairs  in  Arizona  attracted  unusual  attention. 

One  of  General  Crook's  methods  of  dealing  with  the  hostiles  was  to 
employ  a  certain  number  of  the  same  tribe  to  act  as  scouts  in  their 
pursuit.  Possibly,  as  there  have  been  so  many  misrepresentations  as  to 
what  his  instructions  actually  were,  the  conditions  he  made  with  the 
surrendered  Indians,  and  my  own  instructions,  a  better  understanding  will 
be  obtained  by  presenting  the  official  correspondence  first  published  in 
1886,  that  passed  between  the  department  commander  and  the  higher  au- 
thorities immediately  prior  to  my  assuming  command  of  that  department. 
This  correspondence  was  as  follows,  General  Crook  having  gone  from 
Fort  Bowie  down  to  meet  the  hostile  Apaches: 

CAMP  EL  CANON  DE  Los  EMBUDOS,  ) 

20  MILES  S.  E.  SAN  BERNARDINO,  MEXICO,  March  26,  1886.—  \ 
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL  P.  H.  SHERIDAN,  Washington,  D.  C.  : 

I  met  the  hostiles  yesterday  at  Lieut.  Maus'  camp,  they  being  located  about  five  hun- 
dred yards  distant.  I  found  them  very  independent,  and  fierce  as  so  many  tigers. 
Knowing  what  pitiless  brutes  they  are  themselves,  they  mistrust  everyone  else.  After  my 
talk  with  them  it  seemed  as  if  it  would  be  impossible  to  get  any  hold  on  them,  except  on 
condition  that  they  be  allowed  to  return  to  their  reservation  on  their  old  status. 

To-day  things  look  more  favorable.  GEORGE  CROOK,  Brigadier  General. 


CAMP  EL  CANON  Los  EMBUDOS,  MEXICO,  March  27,  1886. 

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL  SHERIDAN,  U.  S.  A.,  Washington,  D.  C. :  Confidential. 

In  conference  with  Geronimo  and  the  other  Chiricahuas  I  told  them  they  must  decide 
at  once  on  unconditional  surrender  or  to  fight  it  out.  That  in  the  latter  event  hostilities 
should  be  resumed  at  once,  and  the  last  one  of  them  killed  if  it  took  fifty  years.  I  told 
them  to  reflect  on  what  they  were  to  do  before  giving  me  their  answer.  The  only  propo- 
sitions they  would  entertain  were  these  three  :  That  they  should  be  sent  east  for  not 
exceeding  two  years,  taking  with  them  such  of  their  families  as  so  desired,  leaving  at 
Apache  Nana  who  is  seventy  years  old  and  superannuated  ;  or  that  they  should  all  return 
to  the  reservation  upon  their  old  status  ;  or  else  return  to  the  war-path  with  its  attendant 
horrors. 


"This  Is  quite  true  of  Mr.  Horn,  but  not  more  true  than  of  the  writer  himself ,  and  of  Captain  Crawford, 
Captain  Wirt  Davis,  Captain  Wilder,  Lieutenant  Gatewood  and  Lieutenant  Clarke.  Neither  were  Captain 
Baldwin  and  Captain  Snyder  rewarded,  and  the  same  is  true  of  scores  of  others  who  have  rendered  most  dis- 
tinguished, laborious  and  heroic  services  in  this  most  difficult  and  dangerous  of  all  warfare.  It  is  true  that 
some  of  them  have  had  some  advance  of  rank  in  the  regular  course  of  promotion,  but  no  more  than  others  who 
have  never  engaged  in  such  services.  Yet  they  have  the  consciousness  of  having  rendered  to  the  government 
and  their  fellow  countrymen  most  valuable  and  important  services. 


472  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

As  I  had  to  act  at  once  I  have  to-day  accepted  their  surrender  upon  the  first  propo- 
sition. Kaetena,  the  young  chief  who  less  than  two  years  ago  was  the  worst  Chiricahua 
of  the  whole  lot,  is  now  perfectly  subdued.  He  is  thoroughly  reconstructed,  has  rendered 
me  valuable  assistance,  and  will  be  of  great  service  in  helping  to  control  these  Indians  in 
the  future.  His  stay  at  Alcatraz  has  worked  a  complete  reformation  in  his  character.  I 
have  not  a  doubt  that  similar  treatment  will  produce  same  results  with  the  whole  band, 
and  that  by  the  end  of  that  time  the  excitement  here  will  have  died  away. 

Mangus,  with  thirteen  Chiricahuas,  six  of  whom  are  bucks,  is  not  with  the  other 
Chiricahuas.  He  separated  from  them  in  August  last,  and  has  since  held  no  communica- 
tion with  them.  He  has  committed  no  depredations.  As  it  would  be  likely  to  take  at 
least  a  year  to  find  him  in  the  immense  ranges  of  mountains  to  the  south,  I  think  it 
inadvisable  to  attempt  any  search  at  this  time,  especially  as  he  will  undoubtedly  give  him- 
self up  as  soon  as  he  hears  what  the  others  have  done. 

I  start  for  Bowie  to-morrow  morning,  to  reach  there  next  night.  I  respectfully  request 
to  be  informed  whether  or  not  my  action  has  been  approved,  and  also  that  full  instructions 
meet  me  at  that  point.  The  Chiricahuas  start  for  Bowie  to-morrow  with  the  Apache  scouts 
under  Lieut.  Maus.  GEORGE  CROOK,  Brigadier-General. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  March  30,  1886. 
GENERAL  GEORGE  CROOK,  Fort  Bowie,  Arizona. 

You  are  confidentially  informed  that  your  telegram  of  March  29th  is  received.  The 
President  cannot  assent  to  the  surrender  of  the  hostiles  on  the  terms  that  their  imprison- 
ment last  for  two  years,  with  the  understanding  of  their  return  to  the  reservation.  He 
instructs  you  to  enter  again  into  negotiations  on  the  terms  of  their  unconditional  surrender, 
only  sparing  their  lives ;  in  the  meantime,  and  on  the  receipt  of  this  order,  you  are 
directed  to  take  every  precaution  against  the  escape  of  the  hostiles,  which  must  not  be 
allowed  under  any  circumstances.  You  must  make  at  once  such  disposition  of  your  troops 
as  will  insure  against  further  hostilities  by  completing  the  destruction  of  the  hostiles  unless 
these  terms  are  accepted.  P.  H.  SHERIDAN,  Lieut. -General. 


FORT  BOWIE,  A.  T.,  March  30,  1886. 
LIEUT.-GEN.  P.  H.  SHERIDAN.  Washington,  D.  C. 

A  courier  just  in  from  Lieut.  Maus  reports  that  during  last  night  Geronimo  and 
Natchez  with  twenty  men  and  thirteen  women  left  his  camp,  taking  no  stock.  He  states 
that  there  was  no  apparent  cause  for  their  leaving.  Two  dispatches  received  from  him 
this  morning  reported  everything  going  on  well  and  the  Chiricahuas  in  good  spirits. 
Chihuahua  and  twelve  men  remained  behind.  Lieut.  Maus  with  his  scouts,  except  enough 
to  take  the  other  prisoners  to  Bowie,  have  gone  in  pursuit. 

GEO.  CROOK,  Brigadier-General. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  March  31,  1886. 
GENERAL  GEORGE  CROOK,  Fort  Bowie,  A.  T. 

Your  dispatch  of  yesterday  received.  It  has  occasioned  great  disappointment.  It 
seems  strange  that  Geronimo  and  party  could  have  escaped  without  the  knowledge  of 
the  scouts.  P.  H.  SHERIDAN,  Lieut-General. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


473 


FORT  BOWIE,  A.  T.,  March  31,  1886. 
LIEUT.-GENERAL  P.  H.  SHERIDAN,  Washington,  D.  C. 

In  reply  to  your  dispatch  of  March  thirtieth,  to  enable  you  to  clearly  understand  the 
situation,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  hostiles  had  an  agreement  with  Lieut.  Maus 
that  they  were  to  be  met  by  me  twenty-five  miles  below  the  line,  and  that  no  regular 
troops  were  to  be  present.  While  I  was  very  averse  to  such  an  arrangement,  I  had  to 


APACHES  IN  AMBUSH. 

abide  by  it,  as  it  had  already  been  entered  into.  We  found  them  in  camp  on  a  rocky  hill 
about  five  hundred  yards  from  Lieut.  Maus,  in  such  a  position  that  a  thousand  men  could 
not  have  surrounded  them  with  any  possibility  of  capturing  them.  They  were  able,  upon 
the  approach  of  any  enemy  being  signaled,  to  scatter  and  escape  through  dozens  of 
ravines  and  canons,  which  wouid  shelter  them  from  pursuit  until  they  reached  the  higher 
ranges  in  the  vicinity.  They  were  armed  to  the  teeth,  having  the  most  approved  guns  and 


474  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

all  the  ammunition  they  could  carry.  The  clothing  and  other  supplies  lost  in  the  fight 
with  Crawford  had  been  replaced  by  blankets  and  shirts  obtained  in  Mexico.  Lieut. 
Maus,  with  Apache  scouts,  was  camped  at  the  nearest  point  the  hostiles  would  agree  to 
their  approaching. 

Even  had  I  been  disposed  to  betray  the  confidence  they  placed  in  me,  it  would  have 
been  simply  an  impossibility  to  get  white  troops  to  that  point  either  by  day  or  by  night 
without  their  knowledge,  and  had  I  attempted  to  do  this  the  whole  band  would  have 
stampeded  back  to  the  mountains.  So  suspicious  were  they  that  never  more  than  from 
five  to  eight  of  the  men  came  into  our  camp  at  one  time,  and  to  have  attempted  the 
arrest  of  those  would  have  stampeded  the  others  to  the  mountains.  Even  after  the  march  to 
Bowie  began  we  were  compelled  to  allow  them  to  scatter.  They  would  not  march  in  a  body, 
and  had  any  efforts  been  made  to  keep  them  together  they  would  have  broken  for  the 
•  mountains.  My  only  hope  was  to  get  their  confidence  on  the  march  through  Kaetena 
and  other  confidential  Indians,  and  finally  to  put  them  on  the  cars,  and  until  this  was  done 
it  was  impossible  even  to  disarm  them. 

GEORGE  CROOK,  Brigadier-General,  Commanding. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  April  1,  1886. 
GENERAL  GEORGE  CROOK,  Fort  Bowie,  A.  T. 

Your  dispatch  of  March  thirty-first  received.  I  do  not  see  what  you  can  now  do 
except  to  concentrate  your  troops  at  the  best  points  and  give  protection  to  the  people. 
Geronimo  will  undoubtedly  enter  upon  other  raids  of  murder  and  robbery,  and  as  the 
offensive  campaign  against  him  with  scouts  has  failed,  would  it  not  be  best  to  take  up 
the  defensive  and  give  protection  to  the  people  and  business  interests  of  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico.  The  infantry  might  be  stationed  by  companies  at  certain  points  requiring 
protection,  and  the  cavalry  patrol  between  them.  You  have  in  your  department  forty- 
three  companies  of  infantry  and  forty  companies  of  cavalry,  and  ought  to  be  able  to  do 
a  good  deal  with  such  a  force.  Please  send  me  a  statement  of  what  you  contemplate  for 
the  future.  P.  H.  SHERIDAN,  Lieut. -General. 


FORT  BOWIE,  A.  T.,  April  1,  1886. 
LIEUT. -GENERAL  P.  H.  SHERIDAN,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Your  dispatch  of  to-day  received.  It  has  been  my  aim  throughout  present  opera- 
tions to  afford  the  greatest  amount  of  protection  to  life  and  property  interests,  and 
troops  have  been  stationed  accordingly.  Troops  cannot  protect  property  beyond  a  radius 
of  one-half  mile  from  their  camp.  If  offensive  movements  against  the  Indians  are  not 
resumed,  they  may  remain  quietly  in  the  mountains  for  an  indefinite  time  without  crossing 
the  line,  and  yet  their  very  presence  there  will  be  a  constant  menace  and  require  the 
troops  in  the  department  to  be  at  all  times  in  position  to  repress  sudden  raids,  and  so 
long  as  any  remain  out  they  will  form  a  nucleus  for  disaffected  Indians  from  the  different 
agencies  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  to  join.  That  the  operations  of  the  scouts  in  Mexico 
have  not  proven  as  successful  as  was  hoped,  is  due  to  the  enormous  difficulties  they  have 
been  compelled  to  encounter  from  the  nature  of  the  Indians  they  have  been  hunting,  and 
the  character  of  the  country  in  which  they  have  operated,  and  of  which  persons  not 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  475 

thoroughly  conversant  with  both  can  have  no  conception.  I  believe  that  the  plan  upon 
which  I  have  conducted  operations  is  the  one  most  likely  to  prove  successful  in  the  end. 
It  may  be,  however,  that  I  am  too  much  wedded  to  my  own  views  in  this  matter,  and  as  I 
have  spent  nearly  eight  years  of  the  hardest  work  in  my  life  in  this  department,  I  respect- 
fully request  that  I  may  now  be  relieved  from  its  command. 

GEORGE  CROOK,  Brigadier-General. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  April  2,  1886. 
GENERAL  N.  A.  MILES,  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas. 

Orders    of  this   day  assign  you  to  command  the   Department   of  Arizona  to  relieve 
General  Crook.     Instructions  will  be  sent  you. 

R.  C.  DRUM,  Adjutant-General. 


FORT  BOWIE,  A.  T.,  April  2,  1886. 
LIEUT.-GENERAL  P.  H.  SHERIDAN,  Washington,  D.  C. 

The  hostiles  who  did  not  leave  with  Geronimo  arrived  to-day.  About  eighty.  I  have 
not  ascertained  the  exact  number.  Some  of  the  worst  of  the  band  are  among  them.  In 
my  judgment  they  should  be  sent  away  at  once,  as  the  effect  on  those  still  out  would  be 
much  better  than  to  confine  them.  After  they  get  to  their  destination,  if  they  can  be 
shown  that  their  future  will  be  better  by  remaining  than  to  return,  I  think  there  will  be 
but  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  their  consent  to  remain  indefinitely.  When  sent  off  a 
guard  should  accompany  them.  GEORGE  CROOK,  Brigadier-General. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  April  5,  1886. 
GEN.  GEO.  CROOK,  Fort  Bowie,  Ariz. 

The  present  terms  not  having  been  agreed  to  here,  and  Geronimo  having  broken 
every  condition  of  surrender,  the  Indians  now  in  custody  are  to  be  held  as  prisoners  and 
sent  to  Fort  Marion  without  reference  to  previous  communication  and  without,  in  any  way, 
consulting  their  wishes  in  the  matter.  This  is  in  addition  to  my  previous  telegram  of 
to-day.  P.  H.  SHERIDAN,  Lieut. -General. 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  April  2,  1886. 
GENERAL  GEORGE  CROOK,  Fort  Bowie,  A.  T. 

General  Miles  has   been   ordered  to   relieve  you  in   command  of  the  Department  of 
Arizona  and  orders  issued  to-day.    Advise  General  Miles  where  you  will  be. 

By  order  Secretary  of  War.  R.  C   DRUM,  Adjutant-General. 


FORT  BOWIE,  A.  T.,  April  3,  1886. 
GENERAL  N.  A.  MILES,  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas. 

Adjutant-General  of  the  Army  telegraphs  that  you  have  been  directed  to  relieve  me 
in  command  Dep't  of  Arizona.  Shall  remain  at  Fort  Bowie.  When  can  I  expect  you 
here?  GEORGE  CROOK,  Brigadier-General. 


476  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

FORT  LEAVENWORTH,  KANSAS,  April  3, 1886. 
GENERAL  GKOKGK  CROOK,  Fort  Bowie,  A.  T. 

The  order  was  a  perfect  surprise  to  me.     I   do   not   expect  to   leave  here  for  several 
days,  possibly,  one  week.  N.  A.  MILES,  Brigadier-General. 


HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY,  ) 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  April  3,  1886.  j 
GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES,  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas. 

The  Lieutenant-General  directs  that  on  assuming  command  of  the  Department  of 
Arizona,  you  fix  your  headquarters  temporarily  at  or  near  some  point  on  the  Southern 
Pacific  R.  R. 

He  directs  that  the  greatest  care  be  taken  to  prevent  the  spread  of  hostilities  among 
friendly  Indians  in  your  command,  and  that  the  most  vigorous  operations  looking  to  the 
destruction  or  capture  of  the  hostiles  be  ceaselessly  carried  on.  He  does  not  wish  to 
embarrass  you  by  undertaking  at  this  distance  to  give  specific  instructions  in  relation  to 
operations  against  the  hostiles,  but  it  is  deemed  advisable  to  suggest  the  necessity  of 
making  active  and  prominent  use  of  the  regular  troops  of  your  command.  It  is  desired 
that  you  proceed  to  Arizona  as  soon  as  practicable. 

R.  C.  DRUM,  Adjutant-General. 


I  never  had  any  desire  to  go  to  this  section  of  country  or  to  engage 
in  a  campaign  of  that  character.  Still  I  was  aware  that  such  an  event 
might  possibly  occur. 

Therefore,  perhaps,  I  should  not  have  been  surprised  when,  at  Fort 
Leavenworth,  Kansas,  April  2,  1886,  I  received  telegraphic  orders  to 
proceed  immediately  to  Arizona  and  take  charge  of  that  department.  I 
did  not  welcome  the  order  with  any  degree  of  satisfaction.  In  fact  it 
was  a  most  undesirable  duty.  Yet  the  order  was  imperative  and  required 
immediate  action. 

By  special  act  of  Congress  general  officers  are  allowed  certain  staff 
officers  known  as  aides-de-camp.  They  are  the  personal  staff  of  the  general 
officer,  and  are  expected  to  go  with  him  to  any  field  or  any  part  of  the 
country  and  be  in  constant  readiness  for  any  service  that  may  be  required 
of  them  in  organizing,  disciplining,  mobilizing  and  commanding  any  mili- 
tary force.  At  that  time  I  was  entitled  to  two  officers  of  that  class  though 
I  had  but  one,  Lieutenant  0.  F.  Long.  He  having  recently  been  relieved 
under  a  rule  that  had  been  newly  inaugurated,  and  I,  not  having  been  able 
to  name  another  to  take  his  place,  was  compelled  to  leave  Leavenworth 
practically  alone.  Still  I  had  at  that  time  a  very  efficient  and  faithful 
general  service  clerk,  stenographer  and  secretary,  Mr.  J.  Frank  Brown,  and 
under  the  rules  existing  at  that  time  I  had  authority  to  discharge  him  from 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


477 


the  service  and  reemploy  him  in  another  department.  I  had  requested  to 
have  this  man  transferred  to  the  Department  of  Arizona  and  also  had 
asked  permission  to  take  with  me  one  other  man,  a  faithful,  intelligent 
messenger.  But  these  official  requests  having  been  disapproved,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  authority  then  existing  I  discharged  from  the  service 
the  general  service  clerk,  and  took  him  at  my  own  expense  to  the 
Department  of  Arizona,  where  I  had  him  reemployed.  I  started  on 
the  morning  of  the  7th  of  April  and  reached  Bowie  Station,  Arizona, 
April  12. 

Very  few  of  the  troops  in  that  department  had  ever  served  under  my 
command  and  therefore  I  was  not  as  familiar  with  the  personnel  of  the  com- 
mand as  I  would  have  desired.  Arriving  practically  alone  and  undertak- 
ing a  campaign  in  a  territory  of  the  topography  of  which  I  had  no  personal 
knowledge  any  more  than  I  had  of  the  habits  and  disposition  of  the  mer- 
ciless savages,  the  enterprise  seemed  to  be  quite  difficult. 

At  Bowie  Station,  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  I  found  a  battalion 
of  the  Second  Cavalry  encamped,  and  in  a  very  unsatisfactory  condition. 
They  appeared  to  be  not  only  discouraged  but  thoroughly  disheartened. 
They  had  been  in  the  field  a  long  time  doing  most  disagreeable  and 
hazardous  duty,  and  appeared  to  have  very  little  hope  of  ultimate  success. 
The  citizens  and  settlers  located  in  that  district  of  country 
were  the  most  terror-stricken  people  I  had  ever  seen  in 
any  part  of  the  United  States.  The  settlers  were 
afraid  to  travel  during  the  daytime,  and  never 
felt  safe  either  night  or  day 
unless  within 
reach  of  their  fire- 
arms. Many  of 
the  mines  and  set- 
tlements had  been 
abandoned.  The 
Apache  was  the 
terror  that 
haunted  the  set- 
tlers by  day  and 
by  night.  For 

hundreds  of  years  the  Apache  had  been  at  war  with  the  civilized  races; 
first  with  the  Spaniards,  then  with  the  Mexicans,  and  still  later  with  the 
United  States  authorities. 

M.— 28 


FORT  BOWIE,  ARIZONA. 


478  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

Under  a  treaty  or  agreement  between  our  government  and  Mexico, 
permission  was  granted  by  the  Mexican  government  for  our  troops  to 
pursue  hostile  Indians  into  the  territory  of  Mexico.  This  arrangement 
resulted  most  satisfactorily  as  it  enabled  our  troops  to  pursue  the  Indians 
without  giving  them  any  rest  and  also  to  act  in  concert  with  the  Mex- 
ican troops.  I  found  Governor  Louis  Torres,  governor  of  Sonora  and 
subsequently  a  general  in  the  Mexican  army,  a  most  agreeable  gentle- 
man and  efficient  executive.  His  assistance  and  cooperation  was  most 
agreeable  and  beneficial.  I  was  also  fortunate  in  having  the  friendship  of 
the  distinguished  diplomat,  Senor  Don  Matias  Romero,  who  has  so  long  and 
ably  represented  his  government  in  Washington  as  minister  of  that 
republic. 

I  also  wish  to  acknowledge  the  able  assistance  received  from  Governor 
Ross  of  New  Mexico,  formerly  a  United  States  Senator  from  Kansas,  and 
Governor  Zulick  of  Arizona,  for  assistance  and  cooperation,  as  well  as  that 
of  Mr.  L.  P.  Hughes,  then  a  citizen  of  that  territory  and  now  its  governor. 

From  Bowie  Station  I  went  to  Fort  Bowie,  where  I  established  my 
headquarters.  This  little  military  post  was  situated  in  a  pass  of  the  moun- 
tains formerly  known  as  Apache  Pass,  near  what  was  called  Cochise's 
stronghold  in  the  mountains,  which  was  a  favorite  resort  of  the  Apaches 
for  many  years.  The  cemetery  near  that  military  station  contains  the 
remains  of  a  large  number  of  people,  both  men  and  women,  who  had  been 
killed  in  that  vicinity.  Among  the  victims  were  people  who  had  traveled 
on  the  stage,  prospectors,  ranchmen,  and  soldiers  who  had  been  waylaid 
and  killed,  or  captured  and  then  tortured  to  a  cruel  and  merciless  death. 

My  first  duty  was  to  reorganize  the  commands,  and  if  possible  inspire 
activity  and  confidence  in  the  troops,  and  give  the  settlers  assurances  of 
protection.  To  this  end  1  divided  the  territory  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona 
into  districts  of  observation,  placing  the  territory  near  each  military  post 
under  the  supervision  of  its  commanding  officer,  with  instructions  to  make 
his  immediate  district  untenable  for  any  band  of  Indians  that  might  in- 
vade it.  The  whole  aspect  of  the  country  was  that  of  cheerlessuess,  doubt 
and  uncertainty.  The  territory  roamed  over  by  these  Indians  was  at  least 
six  hundred  miles  in  extent  north  and  south  and  three  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  east  and  west.  This  territory,  comprised  within  the  Rocky  and 
Sierra  Madre  Mountains,  was  the  most  barren  and  desolate  region  on  the 
continent. 

These  Apaches  were  perhaps  the  most  expert  mountain  climbers  in  the 
world.  By  their  training,  by  their  habits  of  life  and  the  necessities  of  their 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


479 


existence  they  were  a  strong,  lithe,  powerful  people,  with  a  singular  lung 
power  which  enabled  them  to  climb  those  high  altitudes  without  accident 
and  with  very  little  fatigue.  The  mountains  were  rugged  and  precipitous, 
and  the  valleys  narrow  and  in  many  places  destitute  of  water.  If  there  had 
been  a  large  number  of  Indians  where  a  strong  body  of  troops  could  have 
been  brought  against  them,  the  problem  would  have  been  simple  and  easy 
of  solution  ;  but  to  undertake  to  subjugate  a  small  band  that  moved  with 
the  greatest  rapidity  from  one  inaccessible  point  to  another  was  more 
difficult. 


480  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

THE   ARIZONA   CAMPAIGN.   (I.) 

PROBLEM   PRESENTED   BY  THE   SITUATION  — OPINIONS  OP  CITIZENS  —  THE   OBSTACLES  TO  SUCCESS 
PRESENTED  BY  THE  NATURAL  CONDITIONS  —  AID  FROM  THE  SIGNAL,  CORPS  AT  WASHING- 
TON—  THE  HELIOSTAT  —  ARRANGEMENT  OF  STATIONS  —  NUMBER  OF  MESSAGES  SENT  — 
DISTRICTS    OP   OBSERVATION  —  CAPTAIN    LAWTON  —  CAPTAIN    WOOD  — 
OTHER    OFFICERS  OF  THE  COMMAND  —  BREAKING  OUT  OF  HOSTILES 
—  DETAILS    OF    THE    CAMPAIGN    AGAINST    THE    APACHES. 

UGH  being  the  circumstances  the  problem  that  presented  itself 
to  me  was  this :  There  were  forty  thousand  Indians  in  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona  the  main  portion  of  whom  were  peace- 
able and  well  disposed,  yet  in  nearly  all  the  different  tribes 
there  were  disaffected  and  turbulent  elements  ready  to  assume 
hostilities  if  an  opportunity  occurred,  or  if  the  hostiles  then 
at  large  were  not  brought  under  control.  Over  a  vast  area  of 
country  of  rugged  mountains  and  narrow  valleys,  with  water 
only  at  scattered  points  and  difficult  to  find  and  obtain, 
roamed  one  of  the  most  desperate,  cruel  and  hardy  bands  of  outlaws  that 
ever  infested  any  country,  who  were  to  be  hunted  down  and  captured.  A 
few  criminals  will  keep  the  entire  police  force  of  the  great  city  of  London 
occupied  ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  has  always  been  found  most  difficult 
to  arrest  the  leaders  in  any  particular  field  of  crime. 

The  mountain  labyrinths  of  the  Apaches  may  be  compared  to  the 
criminal  dens  and  slums  of  London,  though  on  an  immensely  greater  scale, 
and  the  outlaws  to  be  tracked  and  subdued,  for  cunning,  strength  and 
ferocity  have  never  been  surpassed  in  the  annals  of  either  savage  or  civil- 
ized crime.  A  band  of  Indians  that  had  roamed  over  that  country  for  gen- 
erations believed  themselves  to  be  masters  and  unconquerable,  and  many 
of  the  white  people  living  in  that  country  also  believed  it  to  be  impossible 
to  run  them  down  and  capture  them.  I  was  advised  by  many  well-in- 
formed people  of  the  uselessness  of  undertaking  to  subjugate  the  hostiles 
as,  they  stated,  it  had  been  tried  for  so  many  years  without  success. 
"Those  Indians  could  go  over  mountain  country  better  than  white  men;" 
"they  could  signal  from  one  mountain  range  to  another;"  "they  could 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  481 

conceal  themselves;"  and  "when  they  turned  upon  their  enemy  they  were 
utterly  ruthless  and  cruel." 

I  listened  to  all  this  with  a  degree  of  patience,  and  the  only  reply  that 
suggested  itself  was  that  though  all  that  was  said  about  their  skill  and  enter- 
prise and  energy  was  true,  yet  with  our  superior  intelligence  and  modern 
appliances  we  ought  and  would  be  able  to  counteract,  equal,  or  surpass  all 
the  advantages  possessed  by  the  savages.  As  to  the  rapidity  of  their  move- 
ments, we  had  the  power  of  steam  to  aid  us  in  moving  troops,  munitions 
and  provisions,  and  the  telegraph  for  communication.  As  to  their  being 
able  to  signal  by  the  use  of  fire  and  smoke  and  the  flashes  of  some  bright 
piece  of  metal  for  a  short  distance,  I  thought  we  could  not  only  equal,  but 
far  surpass  them  in  a  short  time. 

I  had  it  in  my  mind  to  utilize  for  our  benefit  and  their  discomfiture, 
the  very  elements  that  had  been  the  greatest  obstacles  in  that  whole 
country  to  their  subjugation,  namely,  the  high  mountain  ranges,  the  glar- 
ing, burning  sunlight,  and  an  atmosphere  void  of  moisture.  I  therefore 
requested  the  chief  signal  officer  at  Washington,  General  Hazen,  to  send 
me  a  corps  of  skilled  officers  and  men,  and  the  best  instruments  and 
appliances  that  were  attainable.  I  also  directed  my  engineer  officer  to 
block  out  the  country  in  such  a  way  that  we  might  establish  a  network  of 
points  of  observation  and  communication  over  that  entire  country.  Posts 
were  established  over  the  country  most  frequented  by  the  Apaches,  a  dis- 
trict some  two  hundred  miles  wide  by  three  hundred  miles  long,  north  and 
south.  On  the  high  mountain  peaks  of  this  region,  I  posted  strong  guards 
of  infantry  supplied  with  casks  of  water  and  provisions  enough  to  last 
them  for  thirty  days  in  case  of  siege.  They  were  provided  with  the  best 
field  glasses  and  telescopes  that  could  be  obtained,  and  also  with  the  best 
heliostats. 

The  heliostat  is  a  little  invention  of  an  English  officer  which  had  been 
used  in  India  many  years  before.  My  attention  was  first  directed  to  it 
nearly  twenty  years  ago  when  in  the  office  of  the  chief  signal  officer  of  the 
army,  General  Myer,  who  then  had  six  of  these  instruments.  As  they  were 
not  being  used.  I  suggested  that  he  send  them  to  me  at  the  cantonment  on 
the  Yellowstone,  now  Fort  Keogh,  Montana,  and  I  there  established  the  first 
line  in  this  country,  from  Fort  Keogh  to  Fort  Ouster.  I  afterward  used 
them  experimentally  in  the  Department  of  the  Columbia  between  Van- 
couver Barracks  and  Mount  Hood  a  distance  in  an  air  line  of  fifty  miles.  I 
now  determined  to  test  them  to  their  full  extent  and  make  practical  use 
of  them  in  the  Department  of  Arizona. 


482  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

I  was  much  gratified  to  receive  the  hearty  support  of  General  Hazen  in 
sending  me  skilled  men  ;  and  within  a  short  time  these  stations  were  fixed 
on  the  high  mountain  peaks.  It  was  remarkable  what  advantage  they  gave 
us  in  observing  the  movements  of  the  Indians  or  of  the  troops  in  the  valleys 
below,  and  in  reporting  it  promptly  to  the  central  station  or  headquarters; 
also  in  communicating  with  the  various  commands,  posts  and  stations  in 
the  field.  At  one  time,  when  the  system  was  in  full  operation,  to  test  its 
efficiency  a  message  of  twenty-five  words  was  sent  from  the  extreme 
eastern  to  the  extreme  western  station,  over  a  zigzag  course  of  four  hun- 
dred miles,  and  the  answer  was  received  in  four  hours,  the  total  distance 
traversed  being  about  eight  hundred  miles.  Between  these  two  points  for 
a  part  of  the  distance  there  was  telegraphic  communication,  yet  the 


HELIOGRAPH  STATION. 

message  could  not  have  been  sent  by  telegraph  and  courier  and  answer 
received  as  quickly  as  it  was  by  this  method. 

The  importance  of  the  work  done  by  the  heliostat  in  the  Apache  campaign 
makes  it  worthy  of  a  more  extended  notice  than  has  as  yet  been  accorded 
it.  The  method  of  signaling  by  it  is  very  simple.  By  alternately  inter- 
posing and  removing  some  object  in  front  of  the  mirror  which  forms  the 
principal  part  of  the  instrument,  long  or  short  flashes  of  light  are  made 
which  indicate  words  and  letters  to  the  eye  in  the  same  way  the  telegraph 
indicates  them  to  the  ear.  The  mirrors  are  usually  mounted  on  a  tripod, 
and  the  distance  through  which  this  method  of  communication  may  be 
carried  depends  on  the  clearness  of  the  atmosphere  and  the  size  of  the 
mirrors. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  campaign,  Lieutenant  A.M.  Fuller  of  the  Second 
Cavalry  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  division  of  Arizona,  and  Lieutenant  E. 
E.  Dravo  of  the  Sixth  Cavalry,  in  charge  of  the  division  of  New  Mexico  for 
the  purpose  of  establishing  heliograph  stations  at  suitable  points,  and  the 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  483 

success  of  the  system  was  largely  due  to  the  able  and  judicious  manner 
in  which  these  officers  performed  their  duties.  The  stations  were  generally 
situated  on  high  mountains,  some  of  them  being  six  or  seven  thousand  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  They  were  manned  by  two  or  three  operators 
according  to  the  amount  of  work  to  be  done,  and  were  usually  provided 
with  from  one  to  five  guards,  according  to  the  dangers  of  the  situation. 
Couriers  were  also  furnished  wherever  needed.  Sometimes  it  was  neces- 
sary to  establish  these  stations  a  mile  or  two  from  water,  which  in  that 
case  was  brought  to  them  on  the  backs  of  mules.  Rations  were  usually 
supplied  by  the  month  from  the  most  convenient  military  post. 

Besides  the  heliographs  these  stations  were  fitted  out  with  field  glasses, 
and  usually  also  with  a  telescope,  and  all  day  long  the  lookout  scanned  the 
country  for  signals  from  undetermined  points.  Whenever  possible  the 
station  was  so  situated  as  to  afford  a  dark  background,  as  it  was  found  that 
a  flash  from  such  a  station  could  be  much  more  easily  seen  than  from  one 
where  the  sky  formed  the  only  background. 

In  the  division  of  New  Mexico  there  were  thirteen  of  these  stations, 
and  in  that  of  Arizona  there  were  fourteen.  The  work  was  systematized 
from  the  very  beginning.  All  details,  changes  and  instructions  were  made 
by  regular  orders,  and  each  station  was  provided  with  the  necessary  mate- 
rial for  keeping  records.  Weekly  reports  were  rendered  by  each  station 
as  to  the  number  of  messages  sent  and  received,  and  weekly  reports  of  the 
weather  were  also  required.  As  the  number  of  members  of  the  signal 
corps  was  limited,  much  work  was  performed  by  enlisted  men,  who  proved 
themselves  to  be  very  intelligent  and  apt,  some  of  them  being  competent 
to  go  on  a  station  after  but  two  weeks'  instruction.  Naturally,  telegraph 
operators  found  it  much  easier  to  learn  the  system  than  others  did. 

Some  of  these  stations  communicated  with  but  one  other,  while  some 
communicated  with  as  many  as  five,  as  in  the  case  of  the  one  at  Bowie 
Peak,  Arizona  Territory,  or  the  one  at  the  extreme  northern  point  of  the 
Swisshelm  Mountains.  The  average  distance  between  these  stations  was 
in  a  direct  line  about  twenty-five  miles,  but  Fort  Huachuca,  which  com- 
municated with  three  other  stations,  was  thirty-one  miles  distant  from  the 
nearest. 

In  the  division  of  Arizona  the  total  number  of  messages  sent  from  May 
1,  1886,  to  September  30,  of  the  same  year  was  2,264.  The  greatest  number 
of  messages  from  one  station  (802)  was  from  Fort  Bowie,  and  the  next 
greatest  numbers  (284  and  241)  were  from  the  stations  at  Rucker  Canon 
and  at  Antelope  Springs,  near  the  south  end  of  the  Dragoon  Mountains. 


484 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  485 

From  Cochise's  stronghold  on  the  west  side  of  the  Dragoon  Mountains, 
there  were  only  eighteen  messages  sent,  though  this  station  repeated  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  messages.  The  station  at  Bowie  Peak  repeated 
1,644  messages,  and  the  whole  number  of  messages  repeated  was  4,463. 
The  average  number  of  words  contained  in  these  messages  was  about 
fifty,  though  there  were  cases  where  there  were  more  than  two  hundred. 

The  country  was  subdivided  into  districts  of  observation,  and  each 
district  was  occupied  by  an  efficient  command  fully  supplied  with  trans- 
portation, field  equipment,  guides,  scouts,  trailers,  etc.,  and  Captain  Thomp- 
son, of  the  Fourth  Cavalry,  an  experienced  and  efficient  officer,  was  ap- 
pointed adjutant-general  in  the  field. 

For  the  instruction  of  the  troops  in  the  department,  I  issued  the  fol- 
lowing orders : 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  ARIZONA,  IN  THE  FIELD,      ) 
FORT  BOWIE,  A.  T.,  April  20,  1886.    \ 
GENERAL  FIELD  ORDERS  No.  7. 

The  following  instructions  are  issued  for  the  information  and  guidance  of  troops  serv- 
ing in  the  southern  portions  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico. 

The  chief  object  of  the  troops  will  be  to  capture  or  destroy  any  band  of  hostile  Apache 
Indians  found  in  this  section  of  country  ;  and  to  this  end  the  most  vigorous  and  persistent 
efforts  will  be  required  of  all  officers  and  soldiers  until  the  object  is  accomplished. 

To  better  facilitate  this  duty  and  afford  as  far  as  practicable  protection  to  the  scattered 
settlements,  the  territory  is  subdivided  into  Districts  of  Observation  as  shown  upon  maps 
furnished  by  the  department  engineer  officer,  and  these  will  be  placed  under  command- 
ing officers  to  be  hereafter  designated. 

Each  command  will  have  a  sufficient  number  of  troops  and  the  necessary  transporta- 
tion to  thoroughly  examine  the  district  of  country  to  which  it  is  assigned,  and  will  be  ex- 
pected to  keep  such  section  clear  of  hostile  Indians. 

The  signal  detachments  will  be  placed  upon  the  highest  peaks  and  prominent  lookouts 
to  discover  any  movements  of  Indians  and  to  transmit  messages  between  the  different 
camps. 

The  infantry  will  be  used  in  hunting  through  the  groups  and  ranges  of  mountains,  the 
resorts  of  the  Indians,  occupying  the  important  passes  in  the  mountains,  guarding  sup- 
plies, etc. 

A  sufficient  number  of  reliable  Indians  will  be  used  as  auxiliaries  to  discover  any 
signs  of  hostile  Indians,  and  as  trailers. 

The  cavalry  will  be  used  in  light  scouting  parties,  with  a  sufficient  force  held  in 
readiness  at  all  times  to  make  the  most  persistent  and  effective  pursuit. 

To  avoid  any  advantage  the  Indians  may  have  by  a  relay  of  horses,  where  a  troop  or 
squadron  commander  is  near  the  hostile  Indians  he  will  be  justified  in  dismounting  one- 
half  of  his  command  and  selecting  the  lightest  and  best  riders  to  make  pursuit  by  the 
most  vigorous  forced  marches,  until  the  strength  of  all  the  animals  of  his  command  shall 
have  been  exhausted. 


486  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

In  this  way  a  command  should,  under  a  judicious  leader,  capture  a  band  of  Indians  or 
drive  them  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  miles  in  forty-eight  hours  through 
a  country  favorable  for  cavalry  movements;  and  the  horses  of  the  troops  will  be  trained 
for  this  purpose. 

All  the  commanding  officers  will  make  themselves  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  sections 
of  country  under  their  charge  and  will  use  every  means  to  give  timely  information  regard- 
ing the  movements  of  hostile  Indians  to  their  superiors  or  others  acting  in  concert  with 
them,  in  order  that  fresh  troops  may  intercept  the  hostiles  or  take  up  the  pursuit. 

Commanding  officers  are  expected  to  continue  a  pursuit  until  capture,  or  until  they  are 
assured  a  fresh  command  is  on  the  trail. 

All  camps  and  movements  of  troops  will  be  concealed  as  far  as  possible,  and  every 
effort  will  be  made  at  all  times  by  the  troops  to  discover  hostile  Indians  before  being  seen 
by  them. 

To  avoid  ammunition  getting  into  the  hands  of  the  hostile  Indians  every  cartridge  will 
be  rigidly  accounted  for,  and  when  they  are  used  in  the  field  the  empty  shells  will  be 
effectually  destroyed. 

Friendly  relations  will  be  encouraged  between  the  troops  and  citizens  of  the  country, 
and  all  facilities  rendered  for  the  prompt  interchange  of  reliable  information  regarding 
the  movements  of  hostile  Indians. 

Field  reports  will  be  made  on  the  tenth,  twentieth,  and  thirtieth  of  each  month,  giving 
the  exact  location  of  troops  and  the  strength  and  condition  of  commands. 

By  command  of  Brigadier-General  Miles: 

WILLIAM  A.  THOMPSON,  Captain  Fourth  Cavalry,  A.  A.  A.  G. 

In  making  these  dispositions  the  argument  in  my  mind  was  that  no 
human  being  and  no  wild  animal  could  endure  being  hunted  persistently 
without  eventually  being  subjugated.  Therefore  in  establishing  these 
districts  of  observation,  and  making  each  one  of  them  untenable,  I  believed 
that  it  would  also  be  necessary  to  have  a  force  to  continue  the  pursuit 
when  the  Indians  should  retreat  south  of  the  Mexican  boundary.  At  that 
time  our  government  had  a  treaty  with  the  Mexican  government  by  which 
our  forces  were  authorized  to  follow  the  trail  of  the  hostile  Indians  or 
continue  the  pursuit  in  their  territory,  and  that  they  would  afford  us  what- 
ever facilities  they  could  in  the  way  of  information  and  assistance  against 
these  hostiles. 

For  some  time  I  was  undecided  as  to  the  personnel  of  this  pursuing  com- 
mand. I  visited  several  military  posts — Fort  Bowie,  Fort  Grant,  Fort 
Huachuca  and  other  stations, — before  I  fully  made  up  my  mind  as  to  the 
officers  and  men  I  should  choose  to  constitute  such  a  force.  At  length 
I  selected  from  Fort  Huachuca  an  officer  by  the  name  of  Captain  H.  W. 
Lawton,  Fourth  United  States  Cavalry,  who,  I  thought,  would  fulfill  all  the 
requirements  as  commander.  First  of  all,  because  he  believed  that  these 
Indians  could  be  subjugated.  Officers  who  do  not  believe  in  success  and 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  487 

are  always  ready  to  show  how  a  thing  cannot  be  done  and  give  labored  and 
logical  reasons  and  arguments  why  it  would  be  useless  to  attempt  to 
accomplish  a  purpose,  as  a  rule  are  not  the  kind  of  men  to  be  selected  for 
any  hazardous  enterprise.  While  some  men  may  be  over  zealous  and 
unduly  confident,  yet  where  you  find  a  man  of  sterling  ability  and  clear 
strong  will  power  who  believes  that  a  thing  can  be  accomplished,  the 
chances  are  that,  given  an  opportunity,  he  will  be  more  likely  to  succeed 
than  one  who  has  no  faith  in  what  he  may  be  called  upon  to  do,  or  re- 
quired to  undertake. 

Captain  Lawton  was  of  that  class  who  believed  that  the  Indians  could 
be  overcome.  Although  he  recognized  their  great  skill,  cunning  and  phys- 
ical strength,  he  believed  they  could  be  met  and  defeated  by  studying  and 
improving  upon  their  own  methods.  He  had  made  himself  a  splendid 
record  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  had  also  a  fine  record  on  the 
frontier,  had  been  one  of  General  Mackenzie's  most  zealous  supporters, 
and  possessed  all  the  experience  necessary  to  the  command  of  such  a  force. 
He  was  physically,  perhaps,  as  fine  a  specimen  of  a  man  as  could  be  found. 
He  weighed  at  that  time  two  hundred  and  thirty  pounds,  was  well  pro- 
portioned, straight,  active,  agile,  full  of  energy,  stood  six  feet  five  inches 
in  height  and  was  without  a  superfluous  pound  of  flesh.  His  bone,  muscle, 
sinew  and  nerve  power  was  of  the  finest  texture.  It  was  said  that  he  could  at 
that  time  take  up  an  ordinary  man  and  throw  him  a  rod.  A  giant  in  stature, 
he  had  a  bright  handsome  face,  and  was  in  the  prime  of  life.  I  informed 
him  of  what  1  desired  and  he  was  delighted  at  the  opportunity  for  making 
the  effort  and  undertaking  the  enterprise,  although  it  involved  hardship  and 
labor  and  required  reckless  courage  to  meet  the  dangers  to  be  encountered. 

1  also  found  at  Fort  Huachuca  another  splendid  type  of  American  man- 
hood, Captain  Leonard  Wood,  Assistant  Surgeon,  United  States  Army.  He 
was  a  young  officer  aged  twenty-four,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  a  grad- 
uate of  Harvard,  a  fair-haired,  blue-eyed  young  man  of  great  intelligence, 
sterling,  manly  qualities,  and  resolute  spirit.  He  was  also  perhaps  as 
fine  a  specimen  of  physical  strength  and  endurance  as  could  easily  be 
found.  He  had  a  perfect  knowledge  of  anatomy  and  had  utilized  this 
knowledge  of  physiology  in  training  himself  and  bringing  every  part  of 
his  physique  to  its  highest  perfection,  and  seemed  to  have  the  will  power 
and  energy  to  keep  his  own  physical  mechanism  in  perfect  condition  and 
activity.  I  said  to  him : 

"We  have  heard  much  said  about  the  physical  strength  and  endurance 
of  these  Apache  Indians,  these  natives  of  the  desert  and  mountain.  I 


488  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

would  like  to  have  you  accompany  Captain  Lawton's  command,  and  as  you 
are  probably  in  as  good  a  condition  as  anyone  to  endure  what  they  endure, 
you  can  make  a  careful  study  of  the  Indians  at  every  opportunity  and 
discover  wherein  lies  their  superiority,  if  it  does  exist,  and  whether  it  is 
hereditary,  and  if  hereditary,  whether  the  fiber  and  sinew  and  nerve 
power  is  of  a  finer  quality,  and  whether  their  lungs  are  really  of  greater 
development  and  capacity  to  endure  the  exertion  of  climbing  these 
mountains  than  those  of  our  best  men." 

Captain  Wood  entered  into  the  spirit  of  this  most  heartily,  and  his  serv- 
ices and  observations  and  example  were  most  commendable  and  valuable 
and  added  much  to  the  final  success  of  the  enterprise. 

The  other  oflBcers  of  the  command  were  selected  for  similar  considerations. 

Captain  Lawton's  picked  infantry,  Indian  scouts  and  cavalry  were  at 
times  under  the  immediate  command  of  Lieutenants  Henry  Johnson,  Jr., 
Eighth  Infantry,  H.  C.  Benton,  R.  A.  Brown,  R.  S.  Walsh  and  A.  L.  Smith, 
Fourth  Cavalry,  and  Leighton  Finley,  Tenth  Cavalry.  Lieutenant  Finley, 
now  dead,  rendered  very  efficient  service  in  command  of  the  scouts  during 
the  first  two  months  of  the  campaign.  He  was  a  gallant  officer  and  had 
distinguished  himself  the  preceding  year  (1885)  in  an  affray  with  the  hostiles 
in  Arizona  during  an  attack  which  they  had  made  upon  a  command  to 
which  he  was  attached.  Lieutenant  Brown  commanded  the  scouts  dur- 
ing the  last  two  months  of  the  pursuit  and  rendered  valuable  service. 
They  are  all  entitled  to  great  credit  for  the  zeal,  judgment  and  fidelity 
with  which  they  carried  out  his  instructions. 

The  soldiers  of  this  command  were  also  carefully  selected  and  I  doubt 
whether  there  was  ever  a  finer  collection  of  men  and  officers,  for  the  number, 
gathered  in  one  command.  It  was  a  question  of  fidelity,  of  endurance,  of 
tenacity  of  purpose ;  for  when  the  troops  north  of  the  boundary  had 
driven  the  hostiles  over  the  border,  this  command  was  expected  to  take 
up  the  chase  and  continue  it  until  the  hostiles  were  either  worn  down  and 
brought  to  bay,  or  driven  back  again  to  our  territory.  Well  did  they 
accomplish  this  duty,  as  will  be  seen  by  every  reader  who  follows  to  the 
end  the  narrative  of  this  five  months'  campaign. 

The  command  was  perfectly  equipped  and  abundantly  supplied,  and  in 
such  a  way  as  to  be  independent  of  wagon  transportation.  The  pack-train 
was  the  best  in  the  country,  and,  in  addition  to  the  supplies  carried  by  it, 
I  moved  by  trains  down  the  valleys  practicable  for  wagons,  abundant 
supplies,  in  order  that  this  movable  command  could  have  a  movable  base 
for  their  stores  and  military  supplies. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


489 


Before  we  were  fairly  ready  the  hostiles  themselves  precipitated  the 
campaign.  They  could  have  quietly  remained  in  their  mountain  fastnesses 
in  the  Sierra  Madres  and  forced  us  to  hunt  them,  which  might  have  con- 
sumed from  twelve  months  to  two  years,  but  with  reckless  bravado  they 
opened  the  campaign  by  committing  depredations  south  of  the  boundary 
in  northern  Mexico.  This  was  to  us  a  welcome  signal,  for  it  gave  us  a 
positive  knowledge  of  their  whereabouts,  and  enabled  me  to  immediately 
put  my  plans  into  effect  and  initiate  the  operations  I  had  blocked  out  for 
their  subjugation. 

The  hostiles  were  under  the  leadership  of  the  chiefs  Geronimo  and 
Natchez,  the  last  named  being  the  hereditary  chief  of  the  Chiricahuas,  and 
their  raid  spread  terror 
throughout  that  district  of 
Mexico.  They  then  swept 
northward,  and  on  the  27th  of 
April  invaded  our  territory, 
passing  up  the  Santa  Cruz  Val- 
ley, stealing  stock  and  killing 
a  few  citizens,  including  the 
Peck  family.  Of  this  family 
the  mother  and  one  child  were 
murdered,  and  a  girl,  some  ten 
years  of  age,  was  captured  and 
subsequently  recaptured  by 

the   troops.      The  Indians,  dis-  MOUNTAIN  FASTNESS  —  COCHISE'S  STRONGHOLD. 

regarding  their  usual  custom,  released  the  father  after  holding  him  in 
captivity  for  several  hours. 

,  Although  at  this  time  they  struck  a  section  of  country  further  west  than 
they  had  appeared  in  for  many  years,  yet  Captain  T.  C.  Lebo,  an  energetic 
officer,  and  almost  an  ideal  leader  for  such  service,  with  his  troop,  Tenth 
Cavalry,  was  quickly  on  the  trail,  and  after  a  hot  pursuit  of  two  hundred 
miles  brought  the  Indians  to  bay  in  the  Pinito  Mountains,  some  thirty  miles 
south  of  the  boundary  in  Sonora,  Mexico.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was 
obliged  to  meet  the  enemy  on  ground  of  their  own  choosing,  and  with  every 
natural  obstacle  against  him,  this  officer  made  a  good  fight,  and  while  he 
sustained  very  little  loss  himself,  inflicted  considerable  upon  his  opponents. 
During  this  fight  a  brave  soldier,  Corporal  Scott,  was  so  severely  wounded 
as  to  be  completely  disabled.  As  he  lay  on  the  ground  under  a  sharp  fire 
from  the  Indians,  Lieutenant  Powhatan  H.  Clarke,  a  gallant  young  officer 


490  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

fresh  from  West  Point,  dashed  forward  to  the  rescue  of  the  disabled 
soldier,  and  at  the  imminent  peril  of  his  own  life,  lifted  and  carried  the 
veteran  to  a  place  of  safety.  Though  knights  clad  in  armor  have  long 
since  faded  away  into  the  dim  past,  and  the  clash  of  sword  on  shield  is 
heard  no  more,  with  deeds  like  this  before  us  who  shall  say  that  the  days 
of  chivalry  are  no  more?  We  could  write  a  volume  describing  the 
heroism  of  this  splendid  young  officer  previous  to  his  untimely  death,  but 
must  pass  on  to  other  events  and  heroic  deeds. 

After  this  engagement  the  Indians  continued  their  retreat,  and  the  trail 
was  soon  after  taken  up  by  Lieutenant  H.  C.  Benson  of  the  Fourth  Cavalry. 
They  were  then  pursued  south  and  west,  until  their  trail  was  again  taken 
up  by  Lebo's  command,  and  later  by  that  of  Captain  Lawton.  The  com- 
mand of  Captain  C.  A.  P.  Hatfield,  Fourth  Cavalry,  had  been  placed  to 
intercept  them,  east  of  Santa  Cruz,  Sonora,  and  on  the  15th  of  May  suc- 
ceeded in  completely  surprising  the  savages  at  that  place.  In  the  engage- 
ment which  followed,  the  hostiles  lost  their  entire  camp  equipage  and  about 
twenty  horses,  as  well  as  their  first  deserter,  who,  having  been  wounded 
and  having  had  his  horse  shot  under  him,  crawled  into  the  rocks  and  con- 
tinued his  retreat  for  forty-five  days,  surrendering  at  last  at  Fort  Apache, 
250  miles  to  the  north,  on  the  28th  day  of  June.  This  man  was  afterward 
of  value  to  us,  as  will  be  explained  when  an  account  is  given  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  Indians,  he  being  used  to  aid  in  opening  communications 
by  which  their  ultimate  surrender  was  effected. 

Unfortunately  while  passing  west  through  a  deep  and  narrow  canon 
towards  Santa  Cruz,  embarrassed  with  his  captured  horses  and  other  Indian 
property,  Captain  Hatfield's  command  was  in  turn  attacked  by  the 
hostiles  and  a  sharp  fight  ensued.  In  this  fight  there  were  numerous 
instances  of  conspicuous  bravery.  John  H.  Conradi,  one  of  the  soldiers  of 
the  troop,  lay  severely  wounded  on  the  ground,  and  though  unable  to  move 
himself  beyond  the  fire  of  the  Indians,  continued  to  use  his  rifle  with  tell- 
ing effect.  Two  of  his  comrades,  First  Sergeant  Samuel  Adams  and 
citizen  packer  George  Bowman,  seeing  his  helpless  condition  bravely 
exposed  their  own  lives  in  the  effort  to  reach  him.  But  just  as  they  were 
bearing  him  to  a  place  of  safety  he  received  another  and  this  time  a 
mortal  wound,  thus  meeting  the  very  death  to  save  him  from  which  his 
comrades  had  risked  their  lives.  Many  heroes  have  died,  yet  there  are 
many  still  living. 

After  Hatfield's  fight  Lieutenant  R.  A.  Brown,  Fourth  Cavalry,  struck 
the  trail  and  pursued  the  hostiles  in  an  easterly  direction.  The  Indians 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  491 

then  divided  into  two  bands.  One,  moving  north,  was  intercepted  by 
Lieutenant  Brett  of  the  Second  Cavalry,  who  displayed  great  energy  and 
determination  in  his  pursuit.  The  Indians  going  over  the  roughest  moun- 
tains and  breaking  down  one  set  of  horses,  would  abandon  them  and  pass 
straight  over  the  highest  ranges  and  descending  to  the  valleys  below 
would  steal  others  and  continue  their  retreat,  while  the  troops  in  order  to 
pursue  them  were  obliged  to  send  their  horses  around  the  impassable 
mountain  heights  and  follow  the  trail  on  foot,  climbing  in  the  ascent  and 
sliding  in  the  descent.  On  this  occasion,  at  one  time  the  troops  continued 
the  pursuit  for  twenty-six  hours  without  a  halt,  and  were  without  water 
during  eighteen  hours  in  the  intense  heat  of  that  season.  This  was  the 
second  occasion  in  which  a  part  of  my  commands  were  suffering  so  intensely 
from  thirst — an  agony  fortunately  unknown  to  the  mass  of  mankind — that 
the  men  opened  their  veins  to  moisten  their  burning  lips  with  their  own 
blood.  This  band  of  hostiles  under  Natchez  swept  north  as  far  as  Fort 
Apache,  then  turned  south  pursued  by  one  commanding  officer  after  an- 
other who  took  up  the  pursuit.  The  Indians  were  turned  to  the  south 
again,  and  finally  recrossed  the  Mexican  boundary. 

The  other  band  was  followed  west  by  Lieutenant  Brown,  until  their 
trail  was  struck  by  Captain  Lawton.  The  Indians  were  first  driven  north 
and  then  south,  and  in  passing  through  the  Patagonia  Mountains  were 
intercepted  by  Lieutenant  Walsh,  of  the  Fourth  Cavalry.  He  sur- 
prised their  camp  on  the  evening  of  June  6,  and  captured  nearly  all 
their  animals,  baggage  and  supplies.  The  hostiles  scattered,  and  by  the  time 
the  scouts  could  work  out  the  trail  it  became  too  dark  to  follow.  At 
daylight  the  pursuit  was  again  taken  up  and  carried  on  so  vigorously 
that  the  Indians  were  obliged  to  abandon  all  the  remaining  animals  they 
had  with  them  and  scatter  again  on  foot.  Captain  Lawton,  who  had  mean- 
while joined  this  command,  was  convinced  from  the  fact  that  the  Indians 
had  entirely  disappeared  from  the  border,  and  from  the  direction  in  which 
their  trail  led,  that  at  last  they  were  going  toward  their  stronghold,  the 
Sierra  Madres,  and  a  pursuit  was  at  once  inaugurated  for  a  campaign  in 
those  excessively  rugged  mountains.  The  infantry  command  was  at  this 
time  replaced  by  another  detachment  of  equal  strength  and  with  these 
new  troops  Captain  Lawton  pursued  the  savages  from  one  range  of  moun- 
tains to  another  for  three  months,  sometimes  scaling  peaks  nine  thousand 
or  ten  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  and  then  again  descending 
into  the  depths  of  the  canons  where  the  heat  was  almost  intolerable. 
During  this  time  the  troops  marched  1,396  miles.  Most  of  the  country 


492  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

had  been  burned  over  leaving  no  grass,  and  water  was  so  scarce  that  the 
troops  frequently  suffered  intensely.  One  portion  of  the  command  was 
without  food,  with  the  exception  of  such  game  as  they  could  kill,  for  five 
days.  At  one  time  when  the  pack-train  had  been  delayed  by  the  rough- 
ness of  the  trail,  the  troops  were  obliged  to  subsist  on  two  or  three  deer 
killed  by  the  scouts,  and  on  mule  meat  without  salt. 

Sonora,  the  part  of  Mexico  in  which  the  operations  of  the  troops  were 
now  being  carried  on,  is  a  rough,  mountainous  country,  presenting  obsta- 
cles of  an  extremely  serious  nature.  It  is  a  succession  of  rugged  moun- 
tains, broken  here  and  there  by  a  steep  canon,  and  producing  nothing  but 
a  few  wild  fruits,  cacti,  and  some  game.  There  is  but  little  water  and 
that  often  of  a  poor  quality.  Grass  is  almost  entirely  wanting  during 
the  dry  season. 

This  section  of  country  was  very  thinly  populated,  but  here  and  there 
would  be  found  a  small  town  built  within  a  walled  enclosure.  Inside  this 
wall  were  one  story  adobe  houses  and  scores  of  children  and  adults 
who  wore  but  little  superfluous  clothing.  Nothing  could  speak  more 
eloquently  of  the  fear  and  dread  in  which  the  Mexicans  held  the  Apaches 
than  these  little  walled  towns ;  but  in  spite  of  the  many  lessons  they 
had  received,  they  were  still  poorly  armed  and  in  a  condition  to  fall 
ready  victims  to  the  hostiles.  The  intelligent  and  liberal  construction 
given  by  Governor  Louis  E.  Torres,  of  Sonora,  to  the  terms  of  the  com- 
pact between  the  two  governments  was  of  very  great  assistance  to  our 
officers  in  moving  troops  and  supplies  through  that  portion  of  the  country, 
and  was  acquiesced  in  by  other  Mexican  officials.  Every  assistance  within 
his  personal  and  official  powers  was  rendered  by  the  governor  to  aid  in 
arresting  the  common  enemy  that  had  for  many  years  disturbed  the  peace 
of  the  two  republics. 

During  the  early  days  of  the  expedition  much  of  the  difficult  work 
was  done  by  the  cavalry  in  southern  Arizona  and  northern  Sonora. 
Forage  could  then  occasionally  be  obtained,  but  as  the  mountains  grew 
more  and  more  impassable  that  arm  proved  inadequate,  and  the  chief 
dependence  was  necessarily  placed  upon  the  infantry.  In  some  of  the 
companies  there  were  men  who  had  seen  service  in  India  and  in  South 
Africa,  and  in  their  opinion  this  campaign  in  Arizona  and  far  down  in 
southern  Sonora  was  the  hardest,  most  exacting  service  they  had  ever 
endured.  The  heat  was  so  intense  at  times  that  the  men  could  not  place 
their  hands  on  the  metal  work  of  their  guns.  Pack-trains  could,  in  the 
middle  of  the  day,  move  only  five  or  six  miles  before  the  animals  became 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  493 

overheated  and  unable  to  travel.  The  food  was  not  what  it  should  have 
been  to  sustain  the  strength  and  vitality  of  men  under  long-continued 
fatigue. 

By  the  5th  of  July  the  Indians  had  been  driven  south  of  Oposura, 
Mexico.  A  supply  camp  had  been  established  at  that  point,  and  the  com 
mand  was  equipped  ready  to  continue  operations.  Until  now  the  hostiles 
had  been  accustomed  to  separate  into  small  parties  which  would  make 
sudden  and  bloody  raids  upon  settlements  when  unexpected,  but  after  this 
time  they  were  so  closely  pursued  that  they  could  derive  no  further  benefit 
from  their  raids,  as  they  were  obliged  to  abandon  their  animals  or  else 
fight  to  protect  them,  which  latter  alternative  they  carefully  avoided. 
Sometimes  the  Indians  would  scatter,  but  in  that  case  the  trail  of  a  single 
man  was  followed  until  he  again  joined  the  rest  of  the  band.  The  march 
was  taken  up  toward  the  mouth  of  Tepache  Creek  where  it  was  learned 
that  the  hostiles  had  passed,  committing  depredations  on  their  way.  But 
after  a  couple  of  hours'  march  in  that  direction  the  command  was  over- 
taken by  a  courier  with  the  information  that  a  man  had  been  wounded  by 
the  Indians  at  Tonababu  the  evening  before.  Captain  Lawton  immediately 
changed  his  course  and  on  reaching  the  place  discovered  the  trail  of  the 
savages  who  had  been  doing  the  shooting. 

The  scouts  under  Lieutenant  Brown  were  pushed  ahead  of  the  com- 
mand, and  on  the  13th  of  July  a  runner  was  sent  back  to  say  that  the 
Indian  camp  had  been  discovered,  that  the  scouts  would  attack  it  at  once, 
and  asking  that  the  infantry  be  sent  forward  to  their  support.  Unfortu- 
nately the  surprise  was  not  an  entire  success  for  the  Indians  escaped,  but 
their  animals,  camp  equipage,  a  large  amount  of  dried  meat,  and  other 
provisions  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  troops.  The  trail  was  again  followed 
until  supplies  were  nearly  exhausted,  when  a  halt  was  reluctantly  called. 
After  a  short  rest  scouts  were  sent  out  to  discover  the  whereabouts  of  the 
hostiles,  and  on  the  13th  of  August  information  was  received  that  they 
were  moving  toward  the  Terras  Mountains.  Captain  Lawton  immediately 
started  to  head  them  off,  and  by  making  forced  marches  arrived  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Fronteras  on  the  20th,  where  he  learned  that  the  hostiles 
had  communicated  to  the  Mexicans  a  desire  to  surrender. 


494  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 
THE  ARIZONA  CAMPAIGN.  II. 

THE  QUESTION  OF  KEMOVING  THE  INDIANS  FROM  ARIZONA  —  CONSULTATIONS  WITH  AGENTS  —  CAPTAIN 
PIERCE  —  COLONEL  WADE  —  DISCHARGE  OF  THE  APACHE  SCOUTS — VISIT  TO  FORT  APACHE 
—  THE  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  AGENCY  INDIANS  —  "Tiswra" —  SENDING  A  DELE- 
GATION TO  WASHINGTON  —  THE  RESULT — CORRESPONDENCE  WITH  WAR 
DEPARTMENT  —  FORT  MARION  DECIDED  UPON  AS  PLACE  OF 
CONFINEMENT  —  PREPARATIONS  AT  FORT  APACHE 
—  USING  THE  TELEGRAPH  BETWEEN  WIL- 
cox  AND  FORT  APACHE — "A 
CHIP  OF  THE  OLD 
BLOCK." 

HILE  preparations  and  movements  were  in  progress  which  in 
time  were  to  subjugate  the  Indians  in  active  hostility,  great 
care  was  taken  to  prevent  the  other  Indians  at  the  agencies 
from  affording  them  any  assistance  in  men,  munitions  or 
provisions.  Soon  after  I  assumed  command  of  that  depart- 
ment in  April,  1886,  I  became  convinced  that  there  could  be 
no  lasting  peace  or  permanent  settlement  of  the  chronic  con- 
dition of  warfare  that  had  for  many  years  afflicted  the  people  of  the 
territory  now  comprised  in  Arizona,  New  Mexico  and  the  bordering 
Mexican  States,  until  the  Chiricahuas  and  Warm  Spring  Indians  had 
been  removed  from  that  mountainous  region.  The  trails  they  had 
made  during  past  years  showed  that  their  raids  had  been  from  the 
agencies  through  the  settlements  south  to  old  Mexico,  and  then  back  again 
to  the  same  beginning.  Every  few  years  a  new  generation  of  their  boys 
and  young  men  had  grown  to  manhood  and  become  full  fledged  warriors 
and  their  only  hope  of  achieving  distinction  according  to  the  traditions, 
practice  and  influence  of  their  fathers,  was  in  committing  acts  of  cruelty 
and  devastation.  All  they  knew  of  their  own  history  appeared  to  be 
confined  to  this  field.  It  was  taught  them  from  their  earliest  infancy  and 
practiced  until  their  old  age. 

Early  in  the  month  of  May,  I  went  as  far  north  as  Fort  Thomas, 
Arizona,  and  there  met  by  appointment  Captain  F.  E.  Pierce,  who  had 
charge  of  the  San  Carlos  agency.  This  officer  has  had  a  most  remarkable 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  495 

career.  He  commanded  a  brigade  during  the  war  with  distinction,  lost  an 
eye  in  the  service,  and  was  a  most  earnest  and  zealous  officer.  He  had 
charge  of  some  of  the  worst  Indians  in  the  country.  Three  different  tribes 
were  located  at  the  San  Carlos  agency  (the  San  Carlos,  the  Yumas,  and  the 
Mohaves),  and  as  they  were  friendly  to  the  Chiricahuas  and  Warm  Spring 
Indians,  one  of  my  objects  in  going  there  and  meeting  Captain  Pierce  was 
to  make  all  the  arrangements  possible  to  keep  these  Indians  from  joining 
the  hostiles,  and  to  prevent  them  from  giving  assistance  to  those  who  were 
then  out.  I  also  met  Colonel  J.  F.  Wade  who  was  then  commanding  at 
Fort  Apache.  Both  of  these  officers  were  directed  to  use  every  means 
possible  to  prevent  any  communication  between  the  hostiles  and  the 
Indians  under  their  charge.  Colonel  Wade  was  also  directed  to,  as  far  as 
possible,  bring  the  Chiricahua  and  Warm  Spring  Indians  entirely  under  his 
control,  so  that  they  could  be  removed  from  the  Territory  if  it  became 
necessary.  I  informed  him  at  that  time  that  I  believed  such  a  measure 
was  the  only  means  of  bringing  about  a  permanent  peace,  and  that  I  would 
some  time  in  the  near  future  send  him  an  order  to  remove  them  from  the 
country.  Captain  Pierce,  who  as  I  have  stated,  had  charge  of  the  San 
Carlos  Indians,  fully  agreed  with  me  on  this  subject  and  actively  cooper- 
ated in  the  enterprise.  The  conversation  was  to  be  considered  strictly 
confidential. 

Previous  to  my  taking  command  of  the  department  a  large  number  of 
Apache  scouts  had  been  employed  for  the  purpose  of  hunting  the  hostile 
Apaches.  I  had  no  confidence  in  their  integrity  and  did  not  believe  they 
could  be  trusted.  I  believed  that  they  were  naturally  more  friendly  to 
their  own  blood  relatives  than  they  could  be  to  our  service,  and  took 
measures  to  have  nearly  all  of  them  discharged.  In  their  stead  I  hired 
other  Indians  who  were  more  hostile  to  the  Chiricahua  Apaches.  What 
few  scouts  were  with  the  troops  we  used  principally  as  trailers. 

In  July,  while  the  troops  were  actively  employed  in  pursuing  the  hos- 
tile Indians,  a  chase  which  had  then  been  on  for  several  months,  I  turned 
my  attention  to  the  serious  question  of  the  final  disposition  to  be  made  of 
the  Apaches,  and  determined  to  visit  Fort  Apache  in  person  and  make  an 
examination  of  affairs  at  that  agency.  In  order  that  there  might  be  per- 
fect harmony  between  the  military  department  and  the  Department  of 
the  Interior,  I  wrote  to  Mr.  L.  Q.  C.  Lamar,  Jr.,  a  special  agent  of  the 
Interior  Department,  whose  father,  the  then  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  I 
knew  personally,  asking  him  to  accompany  me  to  Fort  Apache.  We  met 
at  Albuquerque,  New  Mexico,  and  with  my  aid-de-camp  Lieutenant  Dapray, 


496 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


thence  journeyed  west  together  to  Holbrook,  Arizona,  and  from  there  to 
Fort  Apache.  This  last  named  post  is  situated  in  the  White  Mountains, 
in  a  beautiful  and  picturesque  country  of  lofty  mountains,  pine  and  cedar 
forests,  and  near  a  great  rushing,  roaring  mountain  river  full  of  trout.  The 
country  teemed  with  an  abundance  of  game  —  bear,  deer,  antelope,  wild 
turkeys  and  small  game. 

I  found  at  Fort  Apache  over  four  hundred  men,  women  and  children, 


DRUNKEN  INDIANS  IN  CAMP. 

belonging  to  the  Chiricahua  and  Warm  Spring  Indians,  and  a  more  turbu- 
lent, desperate,  disreputable  band  of  human  beings  I  had  never  seen  be- 
fore and  hope  never  to  see  again.  The  Apaches  on  this  reservation  were 
called  prisoners  of  war,  yet  they  had  never  been  disarmed  or  dismounted. 
Some  of  them  had  a  little  land  under  cultivation  on  which  they  raised  bar- 
ley, out  of  which  they  manufactured  "  tiswin,"  a  most  intoxicating  liquor, 
which  has  the  peculiar  characteristic  of  rousing  all  that  is  turbulent  and 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  497 

vicious  in  the  individual  who  had  been  imbibing;  and  the  more  barley  they 
raised  the  more  tiswin  riots  occurred.  When  I  visited  their  camp  they 
were  having  their  drunken  orgies  every  night,  and  it  was  a  perfect  pande- 
monium. It  was  dangerous  to  go  near  them,  as  they  were  constantly 
discharging  pistols  and  rifles.  The  amount  of  land  they  had  under  cultiva- 
tion in  1886  was  altogether  only  about  a  hundred  acres.  The  women  did 
nearly  all  the  work,  though  a  few  men  condescended  occasionally  to  as- 
sist. One  of  the  most  prominent  among  the  Indians  was  Chatto,  who  at 
one  time  had  led  what  was,  perhaps,  the  bloodiest  raid  ever  made  in  that 
country.  The  young  men  were  insolent,  violent  and  restless,  and  anxious 
to  go  on  the  warpath.  They  employed  their  time  in  riding  about  the 
camp  with  firearms,  to  the  terror  of  everyone  with  whom  they  came  in 
contact.  The  people  of  Arizona  had  frequently  sent  strong  petitions  to 
Washington  praying  that  these  Indians  might  be  removed  from  that  Ter- 
ritory, and  at  the  time  I  now  write  of  I  received  reliable  information  that 
another  outbreak  was  contemplated  by  the  Indians  and  was  then  being 
arranged  among  them. 

After  fully  considering  the  condition  of  affairs  in  all  its  bearings,  and 
after  a  thorough  personal  examination  in  company  with  Mr.  La- 
mar,  I  became  more  fully  convinced  than  ever  of  the  necessity  of  re- 
moving that  band  of  Indians  to  some  region  remote  from  Arizona,  where 
they  could  not  at  any  moment  resume  hostilities  and  terrorize  and  devas- 
tate the  country.  As  it  was  supposed  that  this  removal  could  be  effected 
much  more  easily  with  than  without  their  consent,  I  urged  upon  them  the 
importance  of  the  benefits  to  be  obtained  by  removing  to  another  part  of 
the  country.  I  also  requested  and  obtained  from  the  authorities  at  Wash- 
ington permission  to  send  a  delegation  thither  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
their  consent.  This  delegation  was  placed  under  the  charge  of  Captain 
Dorst,  of  the  Fourth  Cavalry,  an  experienced  and  accomplished  officer. 

I  was  of  the  opinion  at  that  time  that  a  removal  to  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory would  be  the  most  advisable,  the  climate  of  that  country  being  simi- 
lar to  that  in  which  they  were  accustomed  to  live.  There  they  would 
also  be  near  another  band  of  Apaches  that  had  been  living  in  that  Terri- 
tory for  a  very  long  time.  However,  it  was  found  impossible  to  remove 
them  immediately  to  that  locality  owing  to  a  law  that  had  been  enacted 
by  Congress  prohibiting  the  sending  thither  of  any  more  Apaches.  Still 
I  thought  they  could  be  removed  to  some  adjacent  country  in  New  Mexico, 
Texas  or  Kansas,  and  on  a  representation  of  the  facts  of  the  case  I  believed 
that  the  law  would  be  repealed  by  Congress,  and  so  it  subsequently  proved. 


498  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

The  delegation  went  to  Washington,  where  other  influences  were 
brought  to  bear  upon  them,  and  they  eventually  determined  to  make  no 
terms,  but  insisted  on  returning  to  the  mountains  of  Arizona.  The  dele- 
gation was  ordered  back  without  anything  having  been  accomplished. 
Learning  of  this  I  sent  a  most  earnest  appeal  to  have  the  delegation 
stopped  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  stating  that  in  my  opinion  if  they 
returned  to  Arizona  in  defiance  of  the  military  authorities  and  the  appeals 
of  the  people  of  that  Territory,  outbreaks  and  disturbances  might  be 
expected  for  the  next  twenty  years.  Finally,  in  deference  to  this  appeal, 
they  were  ordered  detained  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  where  they  became 
defiant  and  exceedingly  troublesome. 

The  authorities  had  by  this  time  become  fully  convinced  that  these 
Indians  would  make  no  peaceful  agreement  for  their  removal,  which  had 
now  come  to  be  regarded  as  an  absolute  military  necessity.  When  the 
delegation  was  stopped  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  I  telegraphed  Captain  Dorst 
to  report  to  me  in  Arizona  and  inform  me  of  the  disposition  of  these 
Indians.  After  he  had  made  his  report  he  was  ordered  to  return  to  Fort 
Leavenworth  and  inform  the  Indian  delegation  that  they  could,  if  they 
chose,  be  considered  friendly  treaty  Indians,  in  which  case  they  must  con- 
form to  the  wishes  and  directions  of  the  government  and  consent  to  the 
peaceable  removal  of  all  their  people  from  the  Territory  of  Arizona,  or 
else  they  must  be  considered  as  individuals,  responsible  for  the  crimes  they 
had  committed,  and  they  were  reminded  that  indictments  were  then 
pending  in  the  courts  of  Arizona  charging  them  with  murder  and  various 
other  crimes.  They  were  also  reminded  of  the  murders  they  had  perpe- 
trated, and  told  that  the  warrants  for  their  arrest  were  awaiting  them,  and 
that  they  could  not  expect  the  military  to  shelter  them  in  the  civil  courts 
from  the  legal  consequences  of  their  acts. 

The  effect  of  this  plain  talk  was  an  agreement  on  their  part  to  accept 
any  disposition  the  government  might  conclude  to  make  of  them.  They 
agreed  to  go  to  any  place  I  might  select,  there  to  remain  until  the  govern- 
ment should  furnish  them  with  utensils,  stock  and  provisions  by  which 
they  could  become  self  sustaining.  My  object  was  then  to  eventually  have 
them  located  in  the  Indian  Territory,  but  I  desired  especially  to  place  them 
far  enough  away  from  Arizona  to  render  it  impossible  for  them  to  resume 
hostilities  whenever  they  might  be  so  disposed. 

The  importance  of  the  removal  of  this  large  and  troublesome  body  of 
Indians  was  patent  to  all  conversant  with  the  situation,  and  was  vitally 
necessary  to  the  welfare  of  the  country.  The  President  had  been  advised 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  499 

that  any  failure  of  such  an  attempt  would  result  in  one  of  the  most  serious 
wars  that  had  ever  occurred  in  the  southwest  country ;  that  if  it  could  not 
be  accomplished  peaceably,  and  that  if  even  a  few  should  escape  and  take  to 
the  warpath  the  results  would  be  altogether  serious.  Still  I  regarded  it  as 
an  imperative  necessity,  and  after  consulting  with  Colonel  Wade,  who  had 
been  requested  to  meet  me  again  at  Albuquerque,  New  Mexico,  and  who 
also  had  confidence  that  it  could  be  done,  the  following  telegram  was  sent 
to  Washington : 

ALBUQUERQUE,  N.  MEX.,  August  20,  1886. 
ADJUTANT-GENERAL,  U.  S.  ARMY,  Washington,  D.  C.: 

Captain  Dorst  reports  that  the  Indians  that  are  now  at  Fort  Leavenworth  received  some 
kind  of  certificate  in  Washington  that  appeared  to  give  them  great  assurance,  and  that 
when  he  parted  with  them  their  conduct  was  defiant  and  insolent.  Should  they  return 
with  the  feeling  that  they  were  entirely  independent  of  the  military  authorities  as  well  as 
the  civil  government,  their  control  would  be  most  difficult  and  their  presence  more  dan- 
gerous to  the  peace  of  this  country.  I  have  directed  him  to  inform  them  on  his  return 
that  they  can  either  be  treaty  Indians  or  that  they  must  be  regarded  as  prisoners  of  war 
and  must  abide  by  what  disposition  the  government  deems  best  for  the  welfare  of  all 
concerned.  I  have  given  him  a  memoranda  to  propose  to  them  as  the  just  and  liberal 
terms  of  the  government,  practically  as  stated  in  my  letter  of  July  7,  viz. :  to  move  to  such 
place  as  the  government  deems  best  and  await  such  time  as  a  reservation  or  a  place  of 
of  residence  shall  be  provided  for  them  outside  of  the  Territories  of  Arizona  and  New 
Mexico.  Should  they  accept  it,  a  part  can  remain  at  Leavenworth  and  a  part  return  to 
accompany  the  balance  of  the  tribe.  Colonel  Wade,  commanding  Fort  Apache,  who  is 
now  here,  informs  me  that  he  can  move  those  at  Apache  without  difficulty,  and  arrange- 
ments have  already  been  considered.  The  discomfiture  of  the  hostiles  renders  the  time 
favorable,  and  as  the  measure  is  of  vital  importance,  I  pray  that  it  may  receive  the  approval 
of  the  government. 

MILES,  Commanding  Department  Arizona. 
(Indorsement  on  foregoing.) 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY,  WASHINGTON,  August  21,  1886. 

Respectfully  submitted  to  the  Acting  Secretary  of  War,  with  copy  for  information  of 
the  Department  of  the  Interior. 

P.  H.  SHERIDAN,  Lieutenant-General,  Commanding. 

The  above  dispatch  from  me  was  telegraphed  by  the  Acting  Secre- 
tary of  War  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Salem,  Massachusetts,  August 
21, 1886,  and  to  the  President,  Saranac  Inn,  Bloomingdale,  Essex  County, 
New  York,  August  21,  1886. 

he  following  further  official  action  resulted: 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  WASHINGTON  CITY,  August  24,  1886. 

SIR: — Having  transmitted  by  telegraph  to  the  President  and  Secretary  of  War  Gen- 
eral Miles's  telegram  of  the  twentieth  instant,  the  inclosed  are  their  replies.  As  it  is  of 


500  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

importance  that  General  Miles  should  have  the  President's  views  at  the  earliest  practicable 
moment,  I  beg  to  request  your  opinion  as  to  the  President's  views  as  soon  as  you  can  con- 
veniently furnish  it. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

R.  C.  DRUM,  Acting  Secretary  of  War. 
The  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

Then  comes  the  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  War  to  the  Adj  utant-Gen- 
eral  and  Acting  Secretary  of  War,  of  which  the  following  is  an  extract : 

Now,  as  to  the  telegram  you  have  sent  the  substance  of,  from  Miles.  I  understand 
him  to  say  that  there  is  no  trouble  now  at  Fort  Apache,  and  arrangements  have  already 
been  considered  —  that  is,  he  can  capture  them  all  and  send  them  away  from  the  Territories 
of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  and  those  on  their  way  from  here,  now  at  Leavenworth,  can 
a  portion  remain  at  Leavenworth,  and  the  balance  be  taken  away  with  the  others;  but  he 
does  not  say  where  he  proposes  to  take  them,  though  he  must  have  been  informed  by 
Captain  Dorst  what  the  views  of  the  President  were  in  that  regard,  viz.,  that  the  place  of 
confinement  should  be  Fort  Marion,  Florida.  The  only  hesitation  the  President  had  in 
regard  to  this  course  arose  from  his  desire  to  be  assured  by  General  Miles  that  all  of  this 
dangerous  band  could  be  secured  and  successfully  conveyed  away;  for  if  a  few  should 
escape  and  take  to  the  warpath  the  results  would  be  altogether  too  serious.  If,  there- 
fore, General  Miles  can  accomplish  this,  and  take  them  to  Fort  Marion  from  Arizona,  the 
course  approved  by  the  President  can  be  carried  out  so  far  as  that  part  of  the  band  at 
Fort  Apache  is  concerned. 

As  to  Chatto  (then  at  Fort  Leavenworth),  and  those  with  him,  it  was  thought  proper 
that  he  should  be  taken  back  to  Arizona,  to  be  sent  to  Marion  with  the  others,  and  not 
taken  directly  there. 

As  before  stated  to  General  Miles,  there  is  no  other  place  available,  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory being  out  of  the  question  for  many  reasons.  They  are  to  be  treated  as  prisoners  of 
war,  and  no  hopes  can  be  held  out  to  them  in  regard  to  the  Indian  Territory. 

General  Sheridan  and  Mr.  Lamar,  or  both,  I  presume,  are  in  Washington.  I  wish 
you  would  show  them  the  above  so  far  as  the  Apaches  are  concerned,  and  unless  some 
suggestion  of  disapproval  is  made  by  them  I  think  a  final  order  to  carry  out  the  original 
intention  should  issue  —  to  take  the  whole  band  of  Chiricahuas  at  Fort  Apache,  and 
Chatto's  people  on  their  return,  and  convey  them  to  Fort  Marion  to  join  those  already 
there. 

(Indorsement  on  foregoing.) 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY,  August  24,  1886. 

I  concur  with  the  views  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 

P.  H.  SHERIDAN,  Lieutenant-General,  Commanding. 

While  I  believed  that  some  point  not  too  far  distant  from  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico  should  be  chosen  for  the  purpose  of  concentrating  the  Indians 
then  at  Fort  Apache  and  those  that  might  surrender  or  be  captured  as 
prisoners  of  war,  still,  as  it  was  decided  by  the  goverment  that  Fort 
Marion  should  be  the  place  in  which  to  concentrate  all  the  Indians  for  the 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  501 

time  being,  I  assented  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  fact  that  Fort  Marion, 
Florida,  had  been  decided  upon  as  the  place  of  confinement  for  not  only 
those  at  Fort  Apache,  Arizona,  but  also  for  those  who  might  surrender  or 
be  captured,  is  clearly  indicated  in  the  following  official  communication  : 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  WASHINGTON  CITY,  August  24,  1886. 

SIR  :  Seeing  that  Fort  Marion  appeared  to  be  agreed  upon  as  the  place  at  which  to 
hold  the  Apaches  on  their  capture  or  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war,  and  having  no  data 
here  from  which  to  judge  of  its  capacity,  &c.,  I  sent  the  following  telegram  to  the  com- 
manding officer  at  Saint  Augustine,  Fla. : 

"What  number  of  Indians  —  men,  women  and  children  —  can,  in  addition  to  the  num- 
ber now  at  Saint  Augustine,  be  accommodated  there  ?  Should  it  be  determined  to 
increase  the  number  by  some  four  or  five  hundred,  what  preparation  would  be  necessary 
and  what  probable  expenditure  required  ?  " 

In  reply  I  received  the  following  : 

"  Can  accommodate  seventy-five  men,  women  and  children,  in  addition  to  those  now 
here.  Fort  Marion  is  a  small  place ;  all  must  live  in  tents.  Have  tentage  by  taking 
battery  tents.  Need  no  particular  preparation,  but  will  have  to  expend  $200  for  additional 
tent  floor  and  lavatories.  Would  recommend  no  more  Indians  be  sent  here.  More 
details  by  mail."  Very  respectfully, 

R.  C.  DRUM,  Acting  Secretary  of  War. 
THE  LIEUTENANT-GENERAL  OF  THE  ARMY.  f 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  was  the  understanding  not  only  with  the  Lieu- 
tenant-General  and  the  acting  Secretary  of  War,  but  also  with  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior. 

Seventy-seven  Indians  mentioned,  men  women  and  children,  had  been 
sent  to  Fort  Marion  in  March  previous,  as  stated  in  a  former  chapter,  and 
as  it  was  the  final  determination  of  the  authorities  at  Washington  that  the 
remainder  of  the  Chiricahua  and  Warm  Spring  Indians  should  be  sent 
there  also.  I  gave  my  most  earnest  attention  to  the  matter.  Let  it  be 
observed  that  the  removal  of  both  the  dangerous  and  turbulent  Indians 
at  Fort  Apache,  and  the  hostile  Indians  whom  the  troops  had  been  hunting 
since  April,  occurred  at  about  the  same  time. 

In  the  meantime  one  troop  after  another  had  been  moved  to  the  vicin- 
ity of  Fort  Apache  until  I  had  succeeded  in  placing  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood, under  the  command  of  Colonel  Wade,  nine  troops  of  cavalry,  a 
sufficient  force  I  believed,  to  handle  that  entire  body  of  Indians. 

Before  returning  to  Fort  Bowie  I  had  several  conversations  with 
Colonel  Wade  as  to  the  duty  he  was  to  perform  and  the  methods  of  its 
performance.  From  Fort  Bowie  I  went  to  Wilcox  Station  on  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad,  which  was  about  twelve  miles  from  Fort  Bowie,  and  in 


502 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


direct  telegraphic  communication  with  Fort  Apache.  There  in  the  tele- 
graph office  I  opened  communication  with  Colonel  Wade  and  directed  him 
to  secure  the  entire  Indian  camp  at  Fort  Apache  and  move  them  north  to 
the  railroad,  and  thence  east  to  Florida. 

The  result  proved  that  no  mistake  had  been  made  in  the  selection  of  an 
officer  for  this  duty.  Colonel  J.  F.  Wade  is  "  a  chip  of  the  old  block,"  a  son  of 
that  eminent  statesman,  the  late  Benjamin  F.  Wade  of  Ohio,  who  for  many 


••.••••;.-.::•/  v-.<";  •*:•?% 
''-•••.^-•/•'..-^  - -A--JO  ;*•; 


'••"  •   *-- :   '."**->i/ -  ;  :••:%• 

Ox    THE    AVAY    TO    FLORIDA. 


years  represented  that  State  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  He  inherited 
the  sterling  qualities  of  his  illustrious  father.  As  a  boy  of  eighteen  he  was 
a  distinguished  soldier  during  the  great  war,  and  has  since  fulfilled  all  the 
requirements  of  his  positions  from  lieutenant  to  that  of  one  of  the  senior 
colonels  of  the  army  of  to-day.  It  was  only  necessary  to  give  him  an 
order,  and  he  could  be  left  to  execute  it  according  to  his  own  best  judg- 
ment. Yet  I  was  extremely  anxious  at  this  critical  moment  of  the  cam- 
paign, because  I  so  fully  realized  how  disastrous  it  would  be  should  he 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


503 


take  any  measures  which  would  cause  an  outbreak  among  the  Indians,  or 
put  a  large  additional  body  on  the  warpath  by  allowing  them  to  escape, 
for  there  was  a  very  large  hostile  element  in  the  camp.  It  would  have 
resulted  in  the  sacrifice  of  many  innocent  lives,  as  well  as  serious  censure 
upon  the  management  of  the  affair.  There  are  occasions  when  a  com- 
manding officer  is  obliged  to  trust  the  fortunes  of  the  campaign,  either  for 
weal  or  woe,  to  his  subordinate.  This  was 
such  a  case.  Of  course  he  is  responsible  for  ,  /,, 

the  selection  of  the  subordinate  to 
carry  out  his  wishes,  but  when  so 
selected,  if  the  subordinate 
fails  the  entire  responsibility 
and  blame  must  rest  upon 
the  principal. 

In  this  case  I  felt  the 
utmost  confidence  that 
the  duty  was  left  in 
safe  hands,  yet  so  anx- 
ious was  I  not  to  disturb 
Colonel  Wade  by  any 
official  inquiry  or  by 
calling  for  official  re- 
ports, that  I  went  down 
to  the  telegraph  office 
and  asked  the  operator 
on  duty,  a  bright  and 
intelligent  young  man, 
if  he  would  not  open  com- 
munication with  the  opera- 
tor at  Fort  Apache,  and  in 
his  own  name,  without 
mentioning  my  presence, 
ask  for  the  news  of  what 
was  going  on.  He  did  so,  and  the  operator  at  Fort  Apache,  whose 
office  occupied  a  high  point  so  that  he  could  overlook  the  whole  scene 
from  his  window,  replied  that  he  observed  that  all  the  Indians  had 
been  gathered  in  to  be  counted  as  was  the  custom  on  Sunday.  Also, 
as  was  their  usual  practice,  the  troops  had  gone  through  their  Sun- 
day inspection,  and  after  they  had  performed  their  ordinary  duties, 


GENERAL  MILES  AT  TELEGRAPH  OFFICE. 


504  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

had  taken  certain  positions  that  commanded  the  position  of  the 
Indians. 

All  this  merely  served  to  increase  my  anxiety  while  I  awaited  results. 
Then  the  operator  at  Wilcox  said  to  the  other  one  at  Apache,  two  hundred 
miles  distant: 

"  Let  me  know  fully  what  is  going  on." 

And  he  replied: 

"I  will." 

Though  not  aware  of  the  significance  and  importance  of  what  was 
going  on  under  his  eyes,  he  watched  events  and  kept  us  informed  of  all 
that  occurred.  He  saw  the  troops  suddenly  take  position  surrounding  the 
large  body  of  Indians,  and  absolutely  commanding  the  position  of  the  In- 
dian camp.  He  saw  some  commotion  among  the  Indians.  All  the  war- 
riors took  a  standing  position  ready  for  immediate  action.  He  saw  Col- 
onel Wade  quietly  walk  down  to  their  vicinity  and  command  them  all  to 
sit  down.  The  Indians  realizing  the  folly  of  resistance  in  the  presence  of 
this  strong  body  of  troops,  and  that  there  was  no  avenue  of  escape  for 
them,  were  entirely  within  the  control  of  the  troops,  and  quietly  obeyed 
the  command  of  Colonel  Wade.  All  this  was  flashed  over  the  wires  to  the 
operator  at  Wilcox,  who,  as  little  realized  the  importance  of  it  as  the 
other  operator  did  who  sent  the  messages. 

I  received  the  information  with  infinite  delight.  I  was  prepared  to 
receive  news  of  a  desperate  fight,  of  a  bloody  encounter,  or  possibly  the 
escape  of  the  entire  body  of  Indians,  and,  therefore,  when  the  electric 
spark  flashed  the  gratifying  news  which  I  knew  meant  peace,  and  I  hoped 
eternal  peace,  to  that  whole  territory,  I  was  greatly  gratified. 

I  waited  for  another  dispatch  which  said  that  Colonel  Wade  had  com- 
manded the  warriors  to  leave  the  camp  and  to  go  into  one  of  the  large 
buildings  adjacent  to  the  body  of  troops.  A  fourth  dispatch  stated  that 
Colonel  Wade  had  directed  a  certain  number  of  the  women  to  return  to 
their  camps  and  bring  in  their  goods  and  all  that  they  required  to  carry 
with  them,  as  they  were  about  to  be  removed.  When  this  information 
was  received  I  was  entirely  satisfied  that  Colonel  Wade  had  that  entire 
camp — which  was  the  arsenal,  the  breeding  place,  the  recruiting  depot,  the 
hospital,  the  asylum  of  the  hostiles,  and  had  been  so  for  years, — entirely 
under  his  control,  and  that  we  had  seen  the  last  of  hostile  Indians  coming 
to  and  going  from  that  camp. 

I  did  not  wait  for  Colonel  Wade's  official  report.  I  knew  that  when  he 
had  time  he  would  send  it.  Again  I  turned  my  attention  to  the  hostile 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


505 


element  still  out  and  still  being  hunted,  pursued,  harassed  and  run  down 
by  the  troops  under  Lawton  and  those  acting  with  him.  I  went  back  to 
Fort  Bowie  that  night,  and  for  several  days  remained  there  in  communi- 
cation with  the  troops  a  hundred  miles  south  of  us  who  had  for  months 
been  pursuing  Geronimo's  band. 


506 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

INCIDENTS  OF  THE  APACHE  CAMPAIGN. 

THE  STORY  OP  THE  WOUNDED  APACHE  —  CAPTAIN  WOOD'S  STORY  —  CHARACTER  OF  APACHE  RAIDS  — 
THE  CASE  OF  THE   PECK  FAMILY  —  INDIAN  IDEAS  ABOUT  INSANE  PERSONS  —  FIGHT  BETWEEN 
APACHES  AND  MEXICANS,  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  RESULTS  —  MEETING  THE  MEXICAN  TROOPS  — 
FINDING  THE   MURDERED  MEXICANS  —  FINDING  DEAD  BODIES  ON  THE  MARCH  —  INDIAN 
MANNER  OF  RIDING  HOBSES  TO  DEATH  —  THE  OLD  MINES  OF  MEXICO — How  THE 
SOLDIERS  MARCHED,  ATE  AND   SLEPT  —  SURPRISING  AN    INDIAN  CAMP — PRE- 
LIMINARIES    OF     SURRENDER     AT    FRONTERAS  —  GERONIMO    COMES    IN  — 
AGREEMENT    TO    SURRENDER — MEETING    WITH    THE    MEXICAN    SOL- 
DIERS—  GERONIMO'S     FRIENDLY     OFFER     TO     ASSIST  —  MEXICAN 
NERVOUSNESS  —  LOSING    A     COMMAND — A    NEW    RIFLE — A 
STAMPEDE  —  MEXICAN    TOWNS  —  EXTREME    HARDSHIP    OF 
THE     CAMPAIGN  —  THE     PROPORTION     OF    SURVIVORS 
— GERONIMO'S       PHILOSOPHY      OF      SURRENDER. 

N   July,    while   at    Fort    Apache,   I  had   found    the    Indian  be- 
fore referred   to,   who  had  been  wounded  in  Hatfield's    fight, 
and  who  had  worked  his    way    north    to   Camp    Apache,      He 
had  avoided  the  troops  by  traveling  along  the  crests    of   the 
mountains,   and    had   contrived    to   subsist   on   field-mice,   rab- 
bits,   the    juice  of   the  giant    cactus,    and  whatever  he  could 
find  to  sustain  life.      He  reported  that  when  he  left  the  camp 
of  the  hostiles  they  were  much  worn  down  and  disheartened, 
and  that  some  of    them    were    disposed    to  surrender.      I  was 
satisfied  from  his  story  that  this  was  the  time  to  demand  a  surrender,  and 
that  he  could  be  made  useful  in  opening  communication  with  the  hostiles. 
I,  therefore,  decided  to  send  him  with  one  other  Indian,  under  the  charge  of 
Lieutenant  Gatewood,  to  seek  out  the  hostile  camp  and  demand  a  surrender. 
Captain  Leonard  Wood,  the  only  officer  who  was  with  Captain  Lawton 
during  the  entire  campaign,  is  at  present  stationed  at  Washington,  D.  C., 
and  gives  me  the  following  interesting  account  of  the  Apache  campaign 
south  of  the  border,  from  notes  taken  by  him  during  the  time. 
CAPTAIN  LEONARD  WOOD'S  STORY. 

As  illustrating  the  character  of  the  raiding  done  by  these  Apaches,  I 
may  mention  the  case  of  the  Peck  family.  Their  ranch  was  surrounded 
by  Indians,  the  entire  family  was  captured,  and  several  of  the  farm-hands 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


507 


were  killed.  The  husband  was  tied  up  and  compelled  to  witness  inde- 
scribable tortures  inflicted  upon  his  wife  until  she  died.  The  terrible 
ordeal  rendered  him  temporarily  insane,  and  as  the  Apaches,  like  most 
Indians,  stand  in  great  awe  of  an  insane  person,  they  set  him  free  as 
soon  as  they  discovered  his  mental  condition;  but  otherwise  he  would 
never  have  been  allowed  to  live.  He  was  afterward  found  by  his  friends 
wandering  about  the  place. 

His  daughter,  who  was  about  thirteen  years  old,  was  captured  by  the 
Indians  and  carried  by  them  three  hundred  miles,  hotly  pursued  by  Cap- 


tain Lawt  on's 
they  met  a  party 
sistingof  sixty  or 
The  Mexicans 
the  Indians,  kill- 
wounding  the 
ried  the  little 
bling  her  to  es- 
dian's  horse  was 
same  time,  thus 
sible  for  him  to 
mainder  of  the 
treated,  so  he 
and  stood  off  the 
seventy  Mexi- 
seven  of  them, 
was  shot  through 
Our  command 
outfit  that  had 
and  on  the  same 
skirmish  oc- 


CAPTAIN  LEONARD  WOOD. 


command,  when 
of  Mexicans  con- 
seventy  men, 
fired  a  volley  on 
ing  a  woman  and 
man  who  car- 
girl,  thus  ena- 
cape.  This  In- 
killed  at  the 
making  it  impos- 
follow  the  re- 
party  as  they  re- 
took to  the  rocks, 
entire  sixty  or 
cans,  killing 
each  of  whom 
the  head, 
had  followed  the 
the  little  girl, 
day  that  this 
curred  with  the 


Mexicans  we  had  been  able  to  get  near  enough  to  fire  at  them,  but  it  was 
too  late  in  the  day  to  accomplish  anything,  and  the  next  morning  at 
daybreak  we  were  again  on  their  trail  following  as  fast  as  possible,  when 
our  scouts  came  rushing  back,  saying  they  had  met  a  large  body  of  Mex- 
ican troops.  Captain  Lawton,  Lieutenant  Finley,  and  myself  went  on  foot 
as  rapidly  as  we  could  to  try  to  overtake  them  but  they  were  in  full  re- 
treat and  we  had  to  follow  them  about  six  miles  before  we  could  catch 
them.  As  we  approached,  the  whole  party  covered  us  with  their  rifles  and 
seemed  very  much  excited.  They  proved  to  be  the  very  party  who  had 


508 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


recaptured  the  little  girl,  and  they  now  delivered  her  over  to  Captain 
Lawton,  who  sent  her  back  to  the  United  States  where  she  was  taken  in 
charge  by  friends. 

The  Mexicans  explained  their  fright  at  our  appearance  in  this  way. 
They  had  descended  into  the  canon  where  the  fight  had  taken  place  to 
bring  out  the  bodies  of  the  seven  men  who  had  been  shot,  when  they  saw 
our  five  scouts  advancing  down  the  canon.  They  mistook  them  for  the 
friends  of  the  Indian  woman  who  had  been  killed  coming  to  recover  her 
body,  and  as  they  had  had  all  the  fighting  they  cared  for  with  that  par- 
ticular band,  they  proceeded  to  retreat  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

It  was  on  this  same  expedition  after  the  little  girl,  but  a  few  days  pre- 


FINDING  THE  MURDERED  MEXICANS. 


vious  to  the  events 
just  related,  that  I  was 
out  hunting,  trying  to  get  some  fresh 
meat  for  the  command,  when  I  noticed 
far  down  in  the  ravine  five  or  six  little 
Mexican  bush  huts.  I  approached  them 
and  discovered  the  bodies  of  five  Mexicans,  all  shot  through  the  head. 
Some  of  their  faces  were  powder-burned,  showing  that  the  shots  were 
very  close.  They  proved  to  be  the  placer  miners,  who  had  been  working 
in  the  creek  when  the  Indians  crept  stealthily  upon  them  and  killed  them 
all,  probably  at  the  first  volley.  On  one  occasion  the  Indians  rode  right 
through  a  wood-chopper's  camp,  killing  seven,  and  there  were  forty  or 
fifty  instances  of  similar  atrocities.  In  one  day  we  picked  up  as  many  as 
ten  bodies,  and  the  governor  of  Sonora  reported  the  number  of  Mexicans 
killed  during  the  whole  campaign  to  be  as  high  as  five  or  six  hundred. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  509 

The  Indians  would  start  out  with  fifty  or  sixty  horses,  and  after  one  had 
been  urged  as  far  as  possible,  his  rider  would  kill  him  and  then  select  a 
fresh  animal  and  hurry  on.  When  our  troops  got  anywhere  near  them 
they  would  simply  scatter  like  quail,  to  meet  again  four  or  five  days  later 
at  some  designated  point.  The  general  drift  of  the  trail  was  about  the 
headwaters  of  the  Yaqui  River,  and  in  a  country  that  was  absolutely 
unknown.  In  this  vicinity  are  situated  those  famous  old  lost  mines  of 
north  Mexico,  about  which  every  Mexican  town  is  full  of  stories.  Just 
south  of  the  boundary  line  is  the  only  east  and  west  trail  for  a  hundred  or 
two  miles.  All  the  trails  of  this  region  are  of  the  very  faintest  kind,  and 
can  be  followed  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  by  daylight  and  at  night 
not  at  all,  unless  unusually  good.  Even  in  the  daytime  they  are  often 
lost.  These  old  mines  just  referred  to  had  long  been  abandoned,  and  as 
the  Apaches  have  run  over  this  region  during  the  last  two  or  three  hundred 
years,  they  have  never  been  rediscovered,  but  are  supposed  to  be  fabulously 
rich.  One  day  while  on  the  Yaqui  River  a  man  came  to  us  who  had 
been  lost  for  sixty-one  days.  He  was  an  American  and  almost  de- 
mented. He  had  been  following  the  course  of  the  river,  trying  to  find 
his  way  out  of  this  wilderness.  He  had  frequently  seen  signs  of 
the  Indians,  but  had  not  been  molested  by  them.  He  had  come  across 
one  of  these  old  mines  and  gave  a  very  complete  description  of  it,  which 
agreed  with  the  recorded  description  given  us  by  the  old  priest  of 
Oposura. 

When  we  reached  the  Yaqui  River  country  it  was  found  impossible  to 
make  use  of  the  cavalry — the  mountains,  volcanic  in  their  character,  being 
almost  impassable.  The  heat  was  intense,  and  the  command  was  reduced 
to  deer  meat  for  food.  There  were  absolutely  no  vegetables,  and  in  fact 
very  little  even  of  the  meat  mentioned.  Our  supply  of  bacon  had  hair 
on  both  sides  of  it.  So  thin  had  it  become  that  nothing  was  left  but  the 
hide.  One  day  Captain  Lawton  was  made  violently  ill  by  eating  some 
canned  corned-beef,  which  had  fermented  soon  after  being  opened,  and 
for  a  few  hours  his  life  hung  in  the  balance.  At  one  time  I  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  scouts  on  a  trip  across  the  main  divide  of  the  Sierra  Madre  to 
"cut  sign"  of  the  hostiles,  and  we  were  without  rations  for  seven  da ys 
with  the  exception  of  game.  We  slept  in  the  bushes,  and  were  without 
blankets  or  bedding.  Our  Indian  scouts  were  always  very  loyal  and  ready 
for  duty.  They  would  follow  a  trail  for  days  where  there  was  not  a  sign 
that  white  men  could  see.  Their  sight  was  remarkable,  and  every  move- 
ment of  a  bird  or  insect  was  noted  by  them. 

M.— 80 


510  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

On  the  13th  of  July  we  effected  the  surprise  of  the  camp  of  Geronimo 
and  Natchez  which  eventually  led  to  their  surrender,  and  resulted  in  the 
immediate  capture  of  everything  in  their  camps  except  themselves  and 
the  clothes  they  wore.  It  was  our  practice  to  keep  two  scouts  two  or 
three  days  in  advance  of  the  command,  and  between  them  and  the  main 
body  four  or  five  other  scouts.  The  Indian  scouts  in  advance  would  locate 
the  camp  of  the  hostiles  and  send  back  word  to  the  next  party,  who  in 
their  turn  would  notify  the  main  command  ;  then  a  forced  march  would 
be  made  in  order  to  surround  and  surprise  the  camp.  On  the  day  men- 
tioned, following  this  method  of  procedure,  we  located  the  Indians  on  the 
Yaqui  River  in  a  section  of  country  almost  impassable  for  man  or  beast, 
and  in  a  position  which  the  Indians  evidently  felt  to  be  perfectly  secure. 
The  small  table-land  on  which  the  camp  was  located  bordered  on  the 
Yaqui  River  and  was  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  high  cliffs  with  practically 
only  two  points  of  entrance,  one  up  the  river  and  the  other  down.  The 
officers  were  able  to  creep  up  and  look  down  on  the  Indian  camp,  which 
was  about  two  thousand  feet  below  their  point  of  observation.  All  the 
fires  were  burning,  the  horses  were  grazing,  and  the  Indians  were  in  the 
river  swimming,  with  evidently  not  the  slightest  apprehension  of  attack. 
Our  plan  was  to  send  scouts  to  close  the  upper  opening,  and  then  to  send 
the  infantry,  of  which  I  had  the  command,  to  attack  the  camp  from  below. 

Both  Indians  and  infantry  were  put  in  position,  and  advanced  on  the 
hostile  camp,  which,  situated  as  it  was  on  this  table-land  covered  with 
cane-brake  and  boulders,  formed  an  ideal  position  for  Indian  defense.  As 
the  infantry  advanced  the  firing  of  the  scouts  was  heard,  which  led  us  to 
believe  that  the  fight  was  on,  and  great,  accordingly,  was  our  disgust  to 
find,  on  our  arrival,  that  the  firing  was  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the 
scouts  were  killing  the  stock,  the  Apaches  themselves  having  escaped 
through  the  northern  exit  just  a  few  minutes  before  their  arrival.  It  was 
a  very  narrow  escape  for  the  Indians,  and  was  due  to  a  mere  accident. 
One  of  their  number  who  had  been  out  hunting  discovered  the  red  head- 
band of  one  of  our  scouts  as  he  was  crawling  around  into  position.  He 
immediately  dropped  his  game  and  notified  the  Apaches,  and  they  were 
able  to  get  away  just  before  the  scouts  closed  up  the  exit.  Some  of  these 
Indians  were  suffering  from  old  wounds.  Natchez  himself  was  among 
this  number,  and  their  sufferings  through  the  pursuit  which  followed  led 
to  their  discouragement  and,  finally,  to  their  surrender. 

From  this  point  they  made  a  big  detour  to  the  south  of  the  Yaqui  River, 
captured  a  Mexican  pack-train,  remounted  themselves,  and  started  north 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


511 


with  our  command  hard  after  them.  When  we  were  about  a  hundred 
miles  south  of  Fronteras  we  learned  from  some  Mexicans  whom  we  met 
that  the  Indians  were  in  the  vicinity  of  that  place.  Two  of  the  Indian 
women  had  been  in  the  town,  and  to  the  house  of  one  Jose  Maria,  whom 
they  knew  well  as  he  had  been  a  captive  among  them  for  seventeen  years. 
These  two  women  had  been  sent  to  get  him  to  open  communications  with 
a  view  to  surrender.  Jose  was  at  the  time  with  Captain  Lawton,  acting  as 
interpreter  for  the  scouts;  but  bis  wife  was  at  home, 
and  when  she  heard  some  one  calling  her  husband, 
went  to  the  window  and  discovered 
the  two  Indian  women  on  a  neigh- 
boring hill.  They  told  her  they 
had  been  sent  to  ask 
Jose  to  open  negotia- 
tions with  the  Ameri- 
cans. This  was  the  first 
really  direct  intimation 
of  their  intention  to 
surrender. 

The  news  of  their 
being  in  Fronteras  had 
also  reached  several 
military  commands  in 
Arizona,  and  we  found 
on  our  arrival  that  Lieu- 
tenant Wilder  of  the 
Fourth  Cavalry  had 
found  these  Indian  wo- 
men, and  had  sent  a 
message  by  them  to  the 

"Yon  ARE  THE  MAN  I  WAXT  TO  TALK  WITH." 

ho  stiles,  demanding 

their  surrender.  In  the  meantime  Lieutenant  Gatewood  who  had  joined 
Captain  Lawton's  command  about  ten  days  before  on  the  Yaqui  River,  the 
two  Indians,  his  escort,  interpreters,  packers,  etc.,  were  sent  to  the  hostile 
camp  to  discover  the  state  of  mind  of  the  hostiles.  The  two  Indians  entered 
the  hostile  camp.  One  stayed  all  night,  but  the  other  returned  and  said 
that  Geronimo  wanted  to  meet  Lieutenant  Gatewood  in  the  open  and  un- 
attended, for  a  talk.  Gatewood  had  this  talk  with  him,  found  his  tone 
friendly,  and  afterward  with  his  party  went  into  their  camp.  Lawton 


512  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

was  with  his  scouts  in  advance  of  his  main  command  and  near  the  Indians' 
camp.  Gatewood,  after  his  visit  to  the  Indians  returned  to  Lawtoirs 
camp  very  much  discouraged,  saying  that  the  Indians  had  declined  to 
recognize  him  and  that  he  had  no  faith  in  their  surrendering.  Lawton 
replied  that  the  Indians  were  not  waiting  there  for  nothing,  and  that  he 
believed  they  meant  to  surrender. 

The  next  morning  at  daybreak  Geronimo,  Natchez  and  twelve  or 
thirteen  other  Indians  came  into  our  camp,  and  Geronimo  rushed  up  to 
Lawton,  threw  his  arms  around  him,  and  giving  him  a  hug  said: 

"  You  are  the  man  I  want  to  talk  with." 

They  had  a  short  conversation,  and  as  a  result  the  entire  body  of  Indians 
came  down  and  camped  within  two  miles  of  us,  and  later  in  the  day  moved 
still  nearer,  so  that  they  were  only  half  a  mile  away,  and  finally  they 
agreed  to  accompany  Lawton  to  where  they  could  meet  General  Miles  and 
formally  surrender. 

Under  these  conditions  we  had  advanced  a  day's  march,  when  we  were 
very  much  surprised  one  morning  before  we  had  left  our  camp  at  the  sudden 
appearance  of  a  party  of  180  Mexicans,  commanded  by  the  prefect  of 
Arisp'e.  Lieutenant  Smith  and  Tom  Horn,  chief  of  scouts,  jumped  on 
their  mules  and  rode  down  to  meet  them  in  a  dense  canebrake,  and  found 
them  extremely  hostile.  They  insisted  that  they  were  going  to  attack 
the  Indian  camp  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  we  assured  them  that  the  Indians 
were  our  prisoners,  were  peaceably  on  their  way  to  the  United  States, 
and  that  we  could  not  permit  them  to  be  attacked.  They  finally  stopped 
advancing,  Lawton  came  up  and  agreed  to  allow  ten  of  their  number 
to  go  into  our  camp  and  receive  proof  that  the  Indians  seriously  intended 
to  surrender.  During  the  time  that  an  attack  seemed  imminent,  Geronimo 
sent  word  to  Captain  Lawton  that  he  held  his  Indians  in  readiness  to 
attack  the  Mexicans  in  the  rear  while  we  attacked  them  in  front. 

As  soon  as  the  Mexicans  halted  I  went  on  and  overtook  the  Indians, 
who  in  the  meantime  had  been  instructed  by  Captain  Lawton  to  "  pull 
out,  and  keep  out  of  the  way."  Walsh  of  the  Fourth  Cavalry  and  Gate- 
wood  were  sent  with  them  to  protect  them  in  case  they  came  in  contact 
with  any  of  our  own  troops.  Captain  Lawton  sent  me  to  them  to  assure 
them  that  we  would  stand  by  them  under  any  circumstances,  and  would  not 
allow  them  to  be  attacked.  Towards  night  some  of  their  scouts  came  in 
with  the  report  that  ten  Mexicans  were  with  our  people,  which  created  con- 
siderable excitement  among  the  Indians.  This  showed  how  well  they  kept 
posted  regarding  events  that  were  transpiring  around  them.  I  hastened 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  513 

to  assure  them  that  there  were  only  ten  Mexicans,  and  that  there  could 
not  possibly  be  any  treachery  on  our  part.  This  satisfied  them,  and  Cap- 
tain Lawton  came  up  soon  after  and  went  into  camp  close  by  them.  He 
then  sent  a  message  to  Geronimo  to  bring  down  his  Indians  as  it  was  nec- 
essary to  assure  the  Mexicans  that  they  were  going  in  to  surrender. 

Geronimo  immediately  complied,  and  came  down  with  nearly  all  his 
men.  As  they  advanced  toward  the  tree  under  which  the  Mexicans  were 
standing,  one  of  the  latter  nervously  moved  his  revolver  in  his  belt.  In  an 
instant  every  Indian  weapon  was  drawn,  and  the  only  thing  that  saved  the 
lives  of  the  Mexicans  was  the  fact  that  we  jumped  in  between  and  held  up 
our  hands  to  prevent  the  Indians  from  firing.  The  Mexicans  now  ap- 
peared to  be  perfectly  satisfied,  and  from  this  time  we  saw  no  more  of 
them. 

The  next  day  after  this  exciting  episode,  when  Lieutenant  Smith 
started  off  with  the  cavalry  and  pack-train,  there  must  have  been  some 
misunderstanding  about  the  designated  camping  place,  for  he  took  a  direc- 
tion different  from  that  taken  by  the  Indians,  who  were  accompanied 
by  Lawton,  Gatewood,  Clay  and  myself.  It  was  necessary  for  some 
of  us  to  travel  with  them  in  order  that  in  case  we  ran  into  any  of  our 
troops  an  explanation  might  be  made  before  a  fight  ensued. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Lawton  became  anxious  about 
the  disappearance  of  the  command,  and  after  arriving  at  an  understand- 
ing with  the  Indians  in  regard  to  the  camping  place  for  the  night,  he 
started  out  to  find  it.  Gatewood  had  with  him  his  interpreter,  a  man 
named  George  Wratton,  and  about  four  o'clock  we  sent  him  out  to  search 
for  the  command.  But  unfortunately  he  did  not  reach  the  command 
until  the  next  day,  having  wandered  around  all  night  and  ridden  his 
mule  to  death.  This  left  only  Gatewood,  Clay  and  myself  in  the  Apache 
camp,  and  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  Indians.  Instead  of  taking  advan- 
tage of  our  position,  they  assured  us  that  while  we  were  in  their  camp  it  was 
our  camp,  and  that  as  we  had  never  lied  to  them  they  were  going  to  keep 
faith  with  us.  They  gave  us  the  best  they  had  to  eat,  and  treated  us  as 
well  as  we  could  wish  in  every  way.  Just  before  giving  us  these  assur- 
ances, Geronimo  came  to  me  and  asked  to  see  my  rifle.  It  was  a  Hotch- 
kiss  and  he  had  never  seen  its  mechanism.  When  he  asked  me  for  the 
gun  and  some  ammunition  I  must  confess  I  felt  a  little  nervous,  for  I 
thought  it  might  be  a  device  to  get  hold  of  one  of  our  weapons.  I  made 
no  objection,  however,  but  let  him  have  it,  showed  him  how  to  use  it,  and 
he  fired  at  a  mark,  just  missing  one  of  his  own  men,  which  he  regarded 


514  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

as  a  great  joke,  rolling  on  the  ground,  laughing  heartily  and  saying 
"good  gun." 

Late  the  next  afternoon  we  came  up  with  our  command,  and  we  then 
proceeded  toward  the  boundary  line.  The  Indians  were  very  watchful, 
and  when  we  came  near  any  of  our  troops  we  found  the  Indians  were  al- 
ways aware  of  their  presence  before  we  knew  of  it  ourselves. 

After  the  surrender  at  Skeleton  Canon,  the  Indians  who  remained  with 
our  command  were  very  quiet  until  we  were  within  four  miles  of  Fort 
Bowie.  On  the  morning  of  the  day  we  reached  the  fort,  just  before  day- 
light, an  officer  rode  suddenly  down  upon  the  Indian  camp  and  stampeded 
it;  and  when  daylight  came  we  found  seven  of  them  had  disappeared. 
The  party  consisted  of  three  men,  three  women  and  a  child,  one  of  the 
men  being  the  brother  of  Natchez.  Lieutenant  Johnson  and  myself  were 
sent  with  small  parties  in  pursuit  of  them,  but  though  we  each  traveled 
about  two  thousand  miles  —  going  far  down  into  Mexico,  he  on  the  east 
and  I  on  the  west  of  the  Sierra  Madre  —  we  could  not  even  learn  their 
fate,  though  Johnson  heard  rumors  of  their  being  killed  in  Mexico. 

During  our  pursuit  of  the  Apaches,  which  lasted  from  April  to  August, 
we  were  sometimes  very  near  them  without  seeing  them.  One  day 
•Horn  and  myself  were  out  after  deer,  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to 
obtain  something  to  eat,  and  while  we  were  climbing  the  side  of  a  canon, 
we  were  both  shot  at  and  our  faces  filled  with  dust.  Doubtless  our  unseen 
assailants  were  hostiles.  Again,  on  another  occasion,  while  going  across 
the  mountains  to  a  Mexican  town  in  quest  of  information,  I  found  tracks 
of  the  Indians  not  over  thirty  minutes  old.  1  knew  this  was  so  because 
they  had  been  made  since  a  heavy  rain,  which  had  occurred  only  a  few 
minutes  before.  Two  men  had  been  killed  on  this  trail  shortly  before,  and 
the  body  of  one  was  being  taken  into  town  as  I  came  in. 

The  little  Mexican  towns  that  we  passed  were  usually  walled ;  every 
ranch  was  fortified,  as  well  as  every  village,  and  the  houses  were  loop- 
holed  for  musketry.  The  people  were  primitive  to  a  degree,  many  of  them 
scarcely  knowing  whether  Mexico  was  a  republic  or  an  empire,  and  nearly 
every  family  had  lost  some  relative  or  friend  through  the  Apaches.  The 
Indians  always  chose  this  section  of  country  when  endeavoring  to  make 
their  escape  from  the  United  States  troops,  and  pursuit  was  especially 
difficult  from  the  fact  that  the  region  was  entirely  unknown  to  us  and 
almost  impassable.  The  Indians  would  purposely  lead  us  into  places 
where  there  was  no  water,  and  sometimes  all  of  that  liquid  that  we  had  to 
drink  would  be  as  thick  as  jelly  —  stuff  that  had  stood  in  rock  tanks  for 


LAWTON'S   PURSUIT   OF   GERONIMO.-SEE  PAGE  486. 


(S'S) 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  517 

months.  At  other  times  they  would  set  fire  to  the  grass  and  bushes. 
Although  the  men  for  this  expedition  were  picked  with  the  greatest  care, 
only  about  one-third  of  them  endured  the  long  fatigue,  and  we  had  prac- 
tically three  sets  of  officers.  Only  Lawton  and  I  of  the  whole  command 
went  through  the  entire  campaign  from  beginning  to  end. 

One  who  does  not  know  this  country  cannot  realize  what  this  kind  of 
service  means  —  marching  every  day  in  the  intense  heat,  the  rocks  and 
earth  being  so  torrid  that  the  feet  are  blistered  and  rifle-barrels  and  every- 
thing metallic  being  so  hot  that  the  hand  cannot  touch  them  without  get- 
ting burnt.  It  is  a  country  rough  beyond  description,  covered  everywhere 
with  cactus  and  full  of  rattlesnakes  and  other  undesirable  companions  of 
that  sort.  The  rain,  when  it  does  come,  comes  as  a  tropical  tempest, 
transforming  dry  canons  into  raging  torrents  in  an  instant.  The  small 
white-tail  deer  abounded  and  served  us  well  as  a  meat  ration.  It  was  no 
unusual  sight  to  see  half  a  dozen  brought  into  camp  and  disposed  of  in  as 
many  minutes.  "Meat,  and  lots  of  it,"  that  was  the  cry  while  we  were 
doing  our  hardest  work,  and  it  seemed  to  be  required  to  make  good  the 
waste.  We  had  no  tents  and  little  or  no  baggage  of  any  kind  except 
rations  and  ammunition.  Suits  of  underclothing  formed  our  uniform  and 
moccasins  covered  our  feet. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  terms  of  surrender  were  fully  under- 
stood by  all  the  Indians.  In  all  the  talks  at  which  I  was  present  they  seemed 
to  comprehend  perfectly  that  the  surrender  was  to  be  unconditional,  and 
they  were  told  from  the  very  first  that  the  intention  was  to  send  them 
away.  Geronimo  only  said : 

"  If  you  will  tell  me  that  the  General  will  do  all  he  can  to  save  our 
lives,  we  will  come  in ;  but  if  we  are  going  to  be  killed  anyhow,  we  might 
just  as  well  fight  it  out  right  here,  because,  in  that  case,  a  few  of  us  might 
possibly  get  away." 

The  only  assurance  that  was  given  him  was  that  American  soldiers 
did  not  kill  their  prisoners. 


In  the  vicinity  of  Fronteras  in  their  interviews  with  Captain  Lawton 
the  Indians  asked  terms  and  privileges  similar  to  those  they  had  before 
enjoyed.  They  sent  me  two  messages  through  the  interpreters,  and  made 
most  urgent  appeals  to  see  the  department  commander.  I  replied  to 
Captain  Lawton  that  tneir  requests  could  not  be  granted,  and  that  he  was 
fully  authorized  to  receive  their  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war  to  troops  in 
the  field.  They  were  told  that  the  troops  were  brave  and  honest  men,  and 


518 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


that  if  they  threw  down  their  arms  and  placed  themselves  at  the  mercy  of 
the  officers,  they  would  not  be  killed,  but  held  as  prisoners  of  war  subject, 
of  course,  to  higher  legal  authority.  They  promised  to  surrender  to  me  in 
person,  and  for  eleven  days  Captain  Lawton's  command  moved  north; 
Geronimo's  and  Natchez'  camp  moving  parallel  with  it  and  frequently 
camping  near  it. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


519 


CHAPTER  XL. 
END  OF  THE  APACHE  WAR. 

PRELIMINARIES    OP   SURRENDER  —  AN  INDIAN    HOSTAGE  —  GOING    IN    PERSON    TO  MEET  THE  IN- 
DIANS—  COURAGE   OF  OFFICERS  —  LIEUTENANT  RUCKER,  AND   "RUCKER'S   CANON" — ARRIVAL 
AT  SKELETON  CANON  —  VISIT  BY  GERONIMO — A  QUESTION  OF  TERMS  —  GERONIMO  AND  THE 
HELIOSTAT  —  TELLING  THE  CHIEF  OF  THE  DESTINY  OF  His  TRIBE  —  How  NATCHEZ  WAS 
BROUGHT  IN  —  CHARACTER  AND  DRESS  OF  GERONIMO'S   BAND  —  How  CRIMES  WERE 
COMMITTED  —  DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  CIVIL  POWER  IN  DEALING  WITH  RENEGADE  INDIANS 
—  THE  EFFECT  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  UPON  THE  OFFICERS — ARRANGEMENTS  AT  FORT 
BOWIE  —  MEETING  OF  OFFICERS  AND  THEIR  FAMILIES  —  DEPARTURE  OF  THE 
INDIANS  FOR  FLORIDA  —  "AULD  LANG  SYNE"  —  FEELING  OF  THE  CITI- 
ZENS OF  ARIZONA  TOWARD  THE  APACHES  —  EFFECT  OF  REMOVAL  UPON 
VALUES  IN  THE  TERRITORY  —  COLONEL  WADE'S  TASK  IN  RE- 
MOVING THE  INDIANS  FROM  FORT  APACHE  —  REMARKABLE 
ESCAPE  AND  RETURN  OF  A  SINGLE  INDIAN  -*-  IDE  AS  AND 
EMOTIONS  OF  THE  INDIANS  WHILE  ON  THE  TRAIN  — 
THE  REMAINING  SMALL  BAND   OF   HOSTILES, 
AND  THEIR  FINAL  CAPTURE  —  ATTEMPTED 
ESCAPE  OF  MANGUS  FROM  A  TRAIN  — 
TRIBUTE   TO  THE  OFFICERS   EN- 
GAGED IN   THE  CAMPAIGN. 

EVERAL  messages  were  received  by  me  from  Captain  Lawton 
reporting  his  progress  and  success,  and  I  also  understood  from 
him  that  the  Indians  desired  to  see  me  in  person.  He  was 
convinced  that  they  were  worn  down  to  the  point  of  submission. 
I  did  not  intend  to  have  any  failure  or  deception,  or  a  pretended 
surrender  that  would  give  them  a  chance  to  escape.  I  therefore 
sent  word  to  Lawton  that  he  was  authorized  to  receive  their 
surrender  at  any  time,  and  that  that  was  all  the  authority  the 
troops  had.  We  had  not  the  pardoning  power,  and  we  had  no 
jurisdiction  as  to  the  punishment  of  their  crimes.  They  were  regarded  as 
outlaws  and  hostile  to  the  government.  They  had  been  making  war  against 
the  peace  of  the  Territory,  and  they  must  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war 
without  any  assurances  as  to  the  future.  He  replied  that  they  were 
anxious  to  surrender,  but  only  to  the  highest  authority,  and  wanted  me  to 
go  down  and  meet  them.  I  informed  him  that  I  did  not  care  to  do  so 
unless  they  gave  me  some  assurance  of  their  purpose  to  surrender,  and  that 


520  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

they  were  acting  in  entire  good  faith,  and  stated  to  him  that  the  best  way 
was  for  them  to  send  some  hostage  as  a  guarantee  of  their  intention.  On 
receiving  this  message  Geronimo  sent  his  own  brother  to  Fort  Bowie  to 
remain  there  as  a  hostage. 

Captain  Lawton  notified  me  that  this  hostage  had  started,  and  in  con- 
sideration of  this  fact  and  in  compliance  with  Lawton's  earnest  appeal  I 
made  arrangements  to  start  on  September  2,  and  moved  south  sixty-five 
miles  with  Lieutenant  Dapray,  A.  D.  C.,  and  a  suitable  escort.  I  must  con- 
fess that  I  went  with  some  forebodings,  though  I  still  had  hope  that  the 
promises  of  Geronimo  would  be  fulfilled.  I  had  received  information  that 
the  Indians  had  gone  into  Lawton's  camp,  and  that  some  of  his  officers  had, 
at  a  very  great  risk  and  with  a  daring  that  was  perhaps  somewhat  reck- 
less, gone  into  the  camp  of  the  savages.  I  knew  that  they  were  expert 
riflemen  and  good  pistol  shots,  and  would  sell  their  lives  very  dearly  if  the 
Indians  attempted  to  take  advantage  of  them.  At  the  same  time  I  would 
not  have  sacrificed  one  of  those  valuable  lives  for  the  whole  Apache  camp. 

This  state  of  affairs  gave  me  much  uneasiness  as  I  made  the  long  journey 
to  meet  Captain  Lawton.  I  took  with  me  both  saddle  horses  and  wagons, 
and  made  the  journey  riding  sometimes  in  the  saddle  and  sometimes  with 
the  driver  on  the  box.  I  had  with  me  a  heliostat  operator,  and  as  we  occa- 
sionally came  in  sight  of  a  mountain  peak  on  which  was  one  of  our  sta- 
tions, I  would  open  communication  with  it  and  through  it  with  Fort  Bowie 
and  Captain  Lawton,  and  with  other  stations.  I  received  communications 
from  Lawton  and  sent  cautionary  dispatches  to  him,  directing  his  officers 
not  to  place  themselves  where  the  Indians  could  take  advantage  of  them  to 
seize  them  and  hold  for  a  ransom,  or  for  enforcing  such  terms  as  they  might 
dictate,  or  kill  them. 

The  first  night  out  we  camped  at  Rucker  Canon,  a  rugged,  desolate 
region  named  for  the  gallant  young  officer,  Lieutenant  Rucker,  who  lost  his 
life  in  crossing  the  treacherous  torrent  that  sweeps  down  the  canon  that 
now  bears  his  name.  His  father,  General  Rucker,  the  aged  and  distinguished 
veteran  of  four  score  years,  still  lives  in  the  capital  of  the  nation. 

The  next  day  we  journeyed  on,  and  joined  the  camp  of  Captain  Lawton 
at  Skeleton  Canon  on  the  evening  of  September  3.  This  canon  had  been 
a  favorite  resort  of  the  Indians  in  former  years,  and  was  well  suited  by 
name  and  tradition  to  witness  the  closing  scenes  of  such  an  Indian  war. 

Soon  after  my  reaching  Lawton's  command,  Geronimo  rode  into  our 
camp  and  dismounted.  He  was  one  of  the  brightest,  most  resolute,  deter- 
mined looking  men  that  I  have  ever  encountered.  He  had  the  clearest, 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  521 

sharpest,  dark  eye  I  think  I  have  ever  seen,  unless  it  was  that  of  General 
Sherman  when  he  was  at  the  prime  of  life  and  just  at  the  close  of  the 
great  war.  Every  movement  indicated  power,  energy  and  determination. 
In  everything  he  did,  he  had  a  purpose.  Of  course  after  being  hunted  over 
these  desolate  valleys,  mountain  crests  and  dark  ravines  until  he  was  worn 
down,  he  was  anxious  -  to  make  the  best  terms  possible.  His  greatest 
anxiety  seemed  to  be  to  know  whether  we  would  treat  him  fairly  and 
without  treachery,  or,  as  soon  as  he  and  his  followers  were  in  our  hands, 
order  them  shot  to  death,  as  had  been  the  fate  of  some  of  his  people.  He 
first  wanted  to  surrender  as  they  had  been  accustomed  to  surrender  before, 
by  going  back  to  Apache  and  taking  their  property,  arms,  stolen  stock,  and 
everything  with  them.  I  replied  to  this  proposal  that  I  was  there  to  con- 
firm what  Captain  Lawton  had  told  them,  and  that  was  that  they  must 
surrender  absolutely  as  prisoners  of  war.  They  could  not  go  back  to  Fort 
Apache  as  they  had  done  on  previous  occasions,  but  whatever  we  told 
them  to  do  that  they  must  conform  to.  "And  more  than  that,"  I  said,  "it 
is  of  no  use  for  you  to  ask  to  go  back  to  Fort  Apache,  for  there  are  no 
Apaches  there  now." 

"What,  no  Apaches  in  the  White  Mountains?  "  he  asked  in  surprise. 

"No,"  I  said. 

"  Where  have  they  gone  ? "  he  asked. 

"I  have  moved  them  all  out  of  the  country,"  I  replied.  "You  have 
been  at  war  with  the  white  people  for  many  years,  and  have  been  engaged 
in  constant  hostilities.  I  have  thought  it  best  that  you  should  be  removed 
from  this  country  to  some  place  where  these  hostilities  cannot  be  re- 
sumed." 

This  seemed  to  dishearten  him  more  than  any  other  fact  of  the  situation. 
The  idea  that  there  were  no  Apaches  in  the  White  Mountains  was  some- 
thing that  he  had  not  anticipated,  and  he  seemed  to  be  wholly  unmanned. 
He  then  said  : 

"  We  are  going  to  do  whatever  you  say  and  will  request  but  one  con- 
dition." 

"What  is  that?"  Tasked. 

"  That  you  will  spare  our  lives." 

I  saw  at  once  that  he  still  entertained  the  idea  that  we  might  kill  them 
if  they  surrendered,  and  said  to  him  : 

"It  is  not  the  custom  of  officers  of  the  United  States  army  to  misuse  or 
destroy  their  prisoners.  So  long  as  you  are  our  prisoners  we  shall  not  kill 
you  but  shall  treat  you  justly.  After  that  you  must  look  to  the  President 


522 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


of  the  United  States,  who  is  the  great  father  of  all  the  Indians  as  well  as 
of  all  the  white  people.  He  has  control  especially  over  Indians.  He  is  a 
just  man,  and  will  treat  you  justly  and  fairly." 

I  did  not  try  to  explain  to  this  savage  the  fact  that  I  had  no  pardoning 
power ;  that  I  had  no  authority  to  mitigate  the  punishment  for  their  crimes, 
or  if  they  were  tried  and  convicted  to  pardon  them,  but  that  that  authority 
was  one  of  the  prerogatives  of  the  chief  magistrate  alone.  Therefore,  I 
merely  told  him  that  he  must  rely  upon  the  President  for  the  character  of 

his  treatment,  and  that  I  was  going 
to  move   him,  as  I    had   already 
moved  the  other  Indians,  out  of  the 
country.     I  explained  to  him  that 
his  people  were  then  in  three 
places.     Part  of  them  in  Flor- 
ida, part  had  recently  been  at 
Fort    Apache,    and    part 
were  then  with  him ;  but 
that    we   were  going    to 
move  all  to  some-one-place. 
To  illustrate  this  to  him, 
I  picked  -up  from  the  sand 
three  pebbles  in  front  of  me, 
and  placing  them  on  the  ground  sep- 
arated them  so  as  to  form  the  three 
points  of  a  triangle,  each  represent- 
ing a  part  of  the  tribe,  and  showed  him  that  we 
were  moving  two  portions  of  the  tribe  toward 
the  third  pebble  which  formed  the  apex  of  the 
triangle ;  I  showed  him  that  I  could  not  tell  what 
but  that  one  thing  was    positive:    he    must    do 
He  assented  to  this  and  said  he  would 


EXPLAINING  THE  SITUATION. 


their  future  would  be, 

whatever  he  was  directed  to  do. 

bring  his  camp  in  early  the  following  morning. 

He  impressed  me  with  a  belief  in  his  sincerity,  and  I  allowed  him  to 
return  to  his  camp,  not  far  distant.  It  was  one  of  those  times  when  one 
has  to  place  confidence  even  in  a  savage.  When  he  mounted  his  horse  and 
turned  his  back  to  us  I  realized  we  had  very  little  control  over  him;  still, 
he  had  placed  his  brother  in  our  hands  as  a  pledge  of  his  good  faith. 

True  to  his  word  he  brought  in  his  band  next  morning.  But  Natchez, 
who  was  a  younger  man  and  the  hereditary  chief  of  the  Apaches,  still 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  523 

remained  out.     Why  he  had  done  so  I  did  not  know,  and  it  gave  me  some 
concern.     I  had  a  conversation  with  Geronimo  in  which  I  induced  him  to 
V  \  talk  quite  freely,  and  then  tried  to  explain  to  him  the  uselessness  of  con- 
tending against  the  military  authority  of  the  white  race,  owing  to  our 
\  many  superior  advantages.     I  told  him  that  we  had  the  use  of  steajn,  and 
could  move  troops  with  great  rapidity  from  one  part  of  the  country  to 
another;  that  we  also  had  the  telegraph  and  the  heliostat,  both  superior 
to  any  of  their  methods  of  communication.     He  wanted  to  know  what  that 
was,  and  I  said  I  would  explain  it  to  him. 

We  were  then  near  a  pool  of  water  with  no  cover  overhead.  The  oper- 
ator had  placed  his  heliostat  on  an  extemporized  tripod  made  by  placing 
three  sticks  together.  I  said  to  Geronimo: 

<;  We  can  watch  your  movements  and  send  messages  over  the  tops  of 
these  mountains  in  a  small  part  of  one  day,  and  over  a  distance  which  it 
would  take  a  man  mounted  on  a  swift  pony  twenty  days  to  travel." 

Geronimo's  face  assumed  an  air  of  curiosity  and  incredulity,  and  he 
said  : 

li How  is  that?" 

I  told  him  I  would  show  him,  and,  taking  him  down  to  the  heliostat, 
asked  the   operator  to   open   communication    with  the  nearest   station 
which  was  about  fifteen  miles  away  in  an  air  line.     He 
immediately  turned  his  instrument  upon  that  point  and 
flashed  a  signal  of  attention.     As  quick  as  thought  the 
sunlight  was  flashed  back  again. 

As  I  have  previously  had  occasion  to  remark,  when 
an  Indian  sees  something  that  he  cannot  comprehend, 
he  attributes  it  to  some  superior  power  beyond  his 
knowledge  and  control,  and  immediately  feels  that  he 
is  in  the  presence  of  a  spirit.  As  those  stalwart  warriors 
in  Montana  in  using  the  telephone  for  the  first  time  had 
given  it  the  name  of  the  "  whispering  spirit,"  so  this  type  of  the  wild  south- 
ern savage  attributed  the  power  he  saw  to  something  more  than  a  mere 
human  being.  He  told  me  that  he  had  observed  these  flashes  upon  the  moun- 
tain heights,  and  believing  them  to  be  spirits,  had  avoided  them  by  going 
around  those  points  of  the  mountains,  never  realizing  that  it  was  a  subtle 
power  used  by  his  enemies,  and  that  those  enemies  were  themselves  located 
upon  these  lofty  points  of  observation  and  communication.  I  explained 
to  him  that  it,  the  instrument,  was  not  only  harmless,  but  of  great  use,  and 
said  to  him: 


524 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


"From  here  to  that  point  is  a  distance  of  nearly  a  day's  march.  From 
that  point  we  can  communicate  all  over  this  country.  I  can  send  a  mes- 
sage back  to  Fort  Bowie,  sixty-five  miles  away,  or  to  Fort  Apache,  nearly 
three  hundred  miles  from  here,  and  get  an  answer  before  the  sun  goes 
down  in  the  west." 

He  comprehended  its  power  and  immediately  put  my  statement  to  the 
test  by  saying: 

"  If  you  can  talk  with  Fort  Bowie,  do  this :  I  sent  my  brother  to  you 
there  as  a  guarantee  of  my  good  faith;  now  tell  me  if  my  brother  is  all 
right."  I  said  to  the  operator: 

"  Open  communication  with  Fort  Bowie  and  ask  the  officer  in  command. 
Major  Beaumont,  or  Captain  Thompson,  my  Adjutant-General,  if  Geron- 
imo's  brother  is  at  Fort  Bowie. 

"  Now,"  I  said  to  Geronimo,  "  you  must  wait,  for  that  inquiry  with  the 
reply  will  have  to  be  repeated  six  times." 

In  a  short  time  the  answer  came  back  that  Geronimo's  brother  was 

there,  was  well,  and  waiting  for  him  to 
come.     This  struck  the  savage  with  awe, 
and  evidently  made  a  strong  impression 
upon  him.     I  noticed  that  he  said  some- 
thing to  one  of  the  war- 
riors close  by  him,   at 
which  the  warrior  qui- 
etly   turned    upon  his 
heel,    walked    back    a 
short  distance  to  where 
his  pony  was  lariated, 
jumped  on  his  back,  and 
rode  rapidly  back  in  the 
'direction  of  the  moun- 
tains from  whence  Ger- 
onimo had  come.    This 
excited    my    curiosity, 
and  I  asked  the  inter- 
preter, who  was  stand- 

GERONIMO  AND  THE  HELIOGRAPH.  ins     near      by       what 

Geronimo  said  to  that  young  warrior.  The  interpreter  replied :  "  He  told 
him  to  go  and  tell  Natchez  that  there  was  a  power  here  which  he  could 
not  understand  ;  and  to  come  in,  and  come  quick." 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  525 

The  heliostat  bad  performed  its  last  and  best  work,  and  in  a  few  hours 
Natchez  came  riding  down  from  the  mountains  with  his  band  of  warriors 
and  their  families  and  came  into  camp,  though  with  much  hesitation  and 
reserve.  They  dismounted  within  a  short  distance  of  the  camp  and 
Natchez  with  an  elastic,  active  step  came  forward,  with  an  expression 
on  his  face  of  awe  and  uncertainty,  and  yet  expressing  a  desire  to 
do  what  was  expected  of  him.  All  his  acts  were  graceful  and  courtly. 
He  exhibited  a  dignified  reserve,  and  though  he  appeared  to  be  anxious, 
yet  seemed  always  conscious  that  he  was  the  hereditary  chief,  and 
son  of  the  great  Cochise.  His  father  had  been  one  of  the  most  noted 
men  in  that  country,  and  had  been  at  the  head  of  the  Apaches 
for  many  years.  Natchez  was  a  tall,  slender,  lithe  fellow,  six  feet 
two,  straight  as  an  arrow,  and,  I  judge,  was  of  about  the  age  of 
thirty  or  thirty-five  years,  suspicious,  watchful  and  dignified  in  every 
movement. 

The  Indians  that  surrendered  with  Geronimo  have  probably  never  been 
matched  since  the  days  of  Robin  Hood.  Many  of  the  warriors  were  out- 
laws from  their  own  tribes,  and  their  boys  of  from  twelve  to  eighteen 
were  the  very  worst  and  most  vicious  of  all.  They  were  clad  in  such  a 
way  as  to  disguise  themselves  as  much  as  possible.  Masses  of  grass, 
bunches  of  weeds,  twigs  or  small  boughs  were  fastened  under  their  hat- 
bands very  profusely,  and  also  upon  their  shoulders  and  backs.  Their 
clothing  was  trimmed  in  such  a  way  that  when  lying  upon  the  ground  in 
a  bunch  of  grass  or  at  the  head  of  a  ravine,  if  they  remained  perfectly 
silent  it  was  as  impossible  to  discover  them  as  if  they  had  been  a  bird  or 
a  serpent.  It  was  in  this  way  that  they  were  wont  to  commit  their  worst 
crimes.  An  unsuspecting  ranchman  or  miner  going  along  a  road  or  trail 
would  pass  within  a  few  feet  of  these  concealed  Apaches,  and  the  first 
intimation  he  would  have  of  their  presence  would  be  a  bullet  through  his 
heart  or  brain.  The  Indians,  when  captured,  were  abundantly  supplied 
with  stolen  property  and  were  well  mounted  on  Mexican  horses.  One 
difficulty  that  would  have  been  found  in  case  they  had  been  turned  over 
to  the  civil  courts  for  trial  and  punishment  would  have  been  this:  Indict- 
ments would  probably  have  been  found  against  the  principal  Indians,  but 
the  young  men  and  boys  who  had  undoubtedly  committed  the  larger 
number  of  crimes  would  have  escaped,  and  remaining  in  that  country 
would  have  returned  to  the  warpath.  Many  of  these  were  afterward 
sent  to  the  Carlisle  school,  and  their  improvement  was  very  marked  and 
of  a  permanent  character. 


526 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


But  what  a  change  had  come  over  the  brave  fellows  who  had  run  them 
down!  When  I  had  last  seen  Lawton  he  was  in  full  form,  but  with  a  grave 
aspect  of  countenance.  Now,  he  was  gaunt  and  lean,  having  lost  forty 
pounds  in  weight,  but  his  face  was  lighted  up  with  the  sparkle  and  joy  of 
the  conscious  victor,  as  much  as  to  say,  "I  present  you  the  trophies  of 
the  hard,  though  fairly  won,  chase."  His  counterpart  in  transformation 
was  Captain  Wood,  his  faithful  and  true  assistant  through  it  all,  who  had 
lost  nearly  thirty  pounds  in  weight. 

The  early  part  of  the  day,  September  4,  was  occupied  in  gathering 
in  the  Indians,  in  explaining  to  them  what  was  expected,  and 
what  would  be  required  of  them,  and,  as  has  been  related,  in 
receiving  the   surrender   of  Natchez   and   preparing  for  the 
morrow.     As  I  did  not  wish  to  make  another  camp  I  arranged 
for  an  early  start  the  next  day.     Thus  the  after- 
noon soon  wore  away ;   the  intense   heat  was 
followed  by  dark,  threatening  clouds  and  a  fierce 
thunder  storm  that  I  have  rarely,  if 
ever,  seen  equaled  in  the  volume  of 
the  tempest  or   the   explosion    and 
roar  of  the   electricity  with   which 
the    atmosphere    was    charged. 
It   was    a   strange   scene   when 
enemies — victors  and  captives— 
sought  shelter  from  the  fury  of 
the  elements.     Geronimo,   Nat- 
chez, Dapray.  Lawton  and  myself 
were  in  a  small  canvas-covered 
wagon  ;  others  were  under  the 
wagon,  and  officers,  soldiers  and 
as    best    they    could  under  the   spare 
It  was  a  fit  ending  to  the  tragedies  that 


APACHE  WAITING  FOR  A  VICTIM. 


Indians    were  huddled    together 

shelter  of  a  few  pieces  of  canvas. 

had  been  enacted  over  those  fields  and  amid  those  canons,  and  I  could  but 

hope  that  there  was  in  truth  a  silver  lining  to  that  war  cloud. 

The  next  day  after  the  surrender  of  Natchez  I  started  with  escort  of  a 
troop  of  cavalry  for  Fort  Bowie,  accompanied  by  Geronimo,  Natchez,  and 
four  other  Indians.  We  reached  that  post,  a  distance  of  sixty-five  miles, 
shortly  after  dark,  and  Captain  Lawton,  following  with  the  remainder  of 
the  Indians,  arrived  there  three  days  later.  On  our  way  to  the 
fort,  as  we  were  riding  along,  Geronimo,  looking  toward  the 


GENERAL  NELSOX  A.  MILES.  -     527 

Chiricahua  Mountains,  referred  to  the  raids  of  his  band  in  that  country. 
He  said: 

"This  is  the  fourth  time  I  have  surrendered."     Upon  which  I  answered: 

"And  I  think  it  is  the  last  time  you  will  ever  have  occasion  to  sur- 
render." 

As  we  moved  along  at  a  rapid  trot,  and  occasionally  at  a  gallop,  I 
directed  Lieutenant  Wilder  to  ride  forward  to  Fort  Bowie  and  notify  the 
commanding  officers  of  our  approach,  in  order  that  he  might  arrange  for 
room  at  the  garrison,  and  have  accommodations  prepared  for  the  prisoners, 
and  provide  the  necessary  guards. 

At  Fort  Bowie  was  a  small  garrison,  and,  like  all  the  posts  in  that 
country,  it  had  been  in  great  anxiety,  and  practically  besieged.  No  one 
could  leave  there  unless  armed  or  under  strong  escort,  and  the  families  of 
officers  had  waited  day  after  day  and  week  after  week  for  tidings  from 
those  in  the  field.  Lieutenant  Wilder's  family  was  there,  and  about  the 
time  he  arrived,  his  wife,  an  accomplished  gentlewoman,  was  taking  a 
walk  with  her  little  children.  It  so  happened  that  her  little  boy  had  run 
some  distance  ahead  and  out  of  her  sight,  to  the  outer  edge  of  the  post, 
just  outside  the  buildings.  As  the  gallant  young  officer  dashed  up  to  the 
post  the  first  object  he  discovered  was  his  little  boy.  and  leaping  down,  the 
child  and  the  hero  were  quickly  clasped  in  each  others  arms.  Lifting  his 
boy  to  the  saddle,  he  remounted,  and  with  his  son  in  front  of  him,  rode  into 
the  post  carrying  the  good  news,  the  first  joyful  tidings  to  the  young  wife 
and  mother  being  the  sudden  appearance  of  her  husband  and  son  together, 
the  boy  proud  to  bring  home  his  father,  the  father  proud  that  he,  with 
others,  could  bring  in  their  old  enemies  as  prisoners.  The  news  was 
almost  too  good  for  the  garrison  to  believe,  for  it  meant  rest  and  peace, 
and  the  end  of  the  terrible  dangers  through  which  they  had  passed. 

On  arriving  at  Fort  Bowie,  in  order  not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  civil 
authorities,  or  have  any  contest  with  them,  I  put  a  strong  guard  around 
the  reservation,  which  was  quite  an  extensive  tract  of  land.  The  Indians 
were  dismounted,  disarmed,  and  placed  under  a  strong  escort,  and  on  the 
8th  of  September,  under  the  charge  of  Captain  Lawton,  were  started  east 
from  Bowie  Station  on  the  line  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad.  As  the 
procession  was  about  to  move  from  Fort  Bowie,  the  band  of  the  Fourth 
Cavalry  was  stationed  on  the  parade  ground,  and,  partly  it  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed through  sentiment,  and  partly  through  derision  on  the  occasion  of 
the  final  adieu  of  the  troops  to  the  Apaches  whom  they  had  been  hunting 
and  fighting  for  so  many  years,  it  struck  up  "Auld  Lang  Syne :" 

M.— 31 


528  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

"  Should  auld  acquaintance  be  forgot, 
And  never  brought  to  mind  ?  " 

The  humor  of  the  situation  was  evidently  not  apparent  to  the  Apaches, 
and  they  could  not  understand  what  occasioned  the  mirth  of  the  soldiers. 

So  intense  was  the  feeling  of  the  citizens  of  that  community  that  when 
they  heard  the  Apaches  had  been  captured  they  consulted  among  them- 
selves along  the  line  of  the  railroad  about  destroying  the  supports  of  some 
of  the  bridges,  and  thus  throwing  the  train  down  some  precipice.  But 
mindful  of  the  fact  that  such  a  course  would  also  cause  the  death  of  many 
brave  officers  and  soldiers  who  were  guarding  the  Apaches,  they  refrained 
from  carrying  out  their  purpose  of  revenge.  Instead,  they  gathered  in 
large  numbers  at  the  different  stations  to  see  their  old  enemies  pass  out  of 
the  country  forever. 

Many  people  who  had  lost  comrades  and  relatives,  seeing  these  savages 
en  route  to  the  far  eastern  country,  were  overcome  by  their  feelings  and 
their  faces  were  bedewed  with  tears  of  grief  or  joy.  A  very  great  change 
immediately  occurred  in  the  values  of  property  in  that  country.  People 
who  had  abandoned  their  mines  and  had  not  seen  them  for  months  or 
years  returned  to  them  again.  The  value  of  horse  and  cattle  ranches 
increased  fifty  per  cent.,  as  it  was  then  safe  for  men  to  travel  without  arms. 

These  Indians  were  for  a  time  detained  at  San  Antonio,  Texas,  but  were 
subsequently  forwarded  to  their  destination  in  Florida. 

I  left  Fort  Bowie  on  the  8th  of  September,  at  the  same  time  as  the 
Indians,  and  accordingly  did  not  receive  a  telegram  concerning  their  dis- 
position that  arrived  at  that  station  on  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  and  had 
no  knowledge  of  it  until  the  Indians  had  passed  out  of  my  department  and 
were  east  of  El  Paso,  Texas,  en  route  to  Florida,  and  I  had  turned  north  to 
go  to  Albuquerque,  New  Mexico,  to  conduct  the  removal  of  the  Indians 
from  Fort  Apache  who.  under  instructions  received,  had  been  ordered  to 
be  moved  direct  to  Fort  Marion,  Florida. 

While  the  above  described  movements  were  in  progress,  Colonel  Wade 
was  quietly  moving  the  Indians  from  Fort  Apache  over  a  mountainous 
country,  a  distance  of  nearly  a  hundred  miles,  to  Holbrook  on  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  Railway.  At  Holbrook  he  found  a  train  of  twelve  cars  and  two 
locomotives  which  I  had  sent  him,  and  put  the  Indians  on  board  these  on 
the  13th  of  September.  Twenty-four  hours  later  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
meeting  him  at  the  depot  at  Albuquerque,  and  of  seeing  the  long  train 
loaded  with  the  worst  element  that  ever  infested  that  country  glide  slowly 
past  on  its  way  to  the  East. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


529 


Thus  far  Colonel  Wade  had  not  lost  a  single  Indian  and  did  not  lose 

one  until  he  was  east  of  the  Mississippi  River.    Just  after  they  passed  St. 

Louis  one  Indian  contrived  to  make  his  escape  from 

the  train,  despite  all  the  precautions  that  had  been 

taken.     True  to  his  wolfish  nature  he  succeeded  in 

avoiding  settlements  and  people   who 

would    be    likely    to    arrest  him,   and 

though  it  took  him  a   year    to    work 

his  way  back  to  the  San  Carlos  reser- 
vation, he  finally  succeeded  in  doing 

it.     Like  a  hyena  he   occasionally,   at 

long    intervals,  stole  down    upon    the 

Indian  camp  at  San  Carlos,  captured  an 

Indian  woman,  carried  her  back  up  into 

the   mountains,    kept  her    for    several 

months,  then  cruelly  murdered  her  and 

returned    to    repeat    the  same    crime. 

This  he  did  several  times,  and  his  move- 
ments were  as  secret  and  stealthy  as 

those   of    a  reptile.      One   Indian  girl  APACHE  BRIDE. 

whom  he  had  captured  made  her  escape  and  told  of  his 
habits  and  cruelty.     This  man  was  afterwards  reported 
^  killed  by  United  States  troops. 

The  Indians  on  board  the  train  had  not 
the  remotest  idea  whither  they  were  being 
transported,  and  though  every  effort  was 
made  to  reassure  them  and  convince  them 
that  they  would  receive  proper  treatment, 
yet  they  had  great  misgivings  and  were  in  a 
constant  state  of  alarm. 

They  had  never  been  on  a  train,  and 
some  of  them  had  never  seen  a  locomotive. 
As  they  passed  into  a  long  tunnel  in  going 
eastward  they  conceived  the  idea  that  they 
were  going  into  the  earth,  and  uttered 
shrieks  of  terror.  When  the  train  passed 
out  at  the  other  end  of  the  tunnel  many 
of  them  were  found  under  the  benches. 
After  the  surrender  of  Geronimo  and  Natchez,  a  small  band  of  hostiles 


LITTLE  MIKE,  IXDIAX  BOY  REARED  BY 
WHITE  PEOPLE. 


530 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


under  a  chief  named  Mangus,  who  had  not  been  with  the  other  hostiles, 
still  remained  out,  and  to  secure  them  I  organized  a  force  under  Lieuten- 
ant C.  P.  Johnson,  who  followed  them  down  through  parts  of  old  Mexico 
and  back  up  into  and  through  New  Mexico.  On  the  14th  of  October, 
the  Indians  having  been  reported  in  the  region  of  the  eastern 
border  of  Arizona,  Captain  Charles  L.  Cooper,  of  the  Tenth  Cavalry,  with 
twenty  enlisted  men  and  two  scouts,  in  obedience  to  orders,  left  Fort 
Apache  to  proceed  in  search  of  them.  About  dark  on  the  17th,  he  found 
a  trail  going  west.  The  next  morning  he  took  up  this  trail,  following  it 
as  rapidly  as  the  extremely  rugged  nature  of  the  country  would  allow,  and 
after  going  about  thirty  miles  obtained  sight  of  the  Indians,  and  was  at 
the  same  time  discovered  by  them.  He  was  then  at  the  base  of  an  al- 
most perpendicu- 
lar mountain,  two 
thousand  feet 
high,  over  the  top 
of  which  they 
were  just  passing. 
He  pursued  them 
over  this  moun- 
tain and  over  five 
others  equally  as 
high,  and  after  a 
hard  chase  of 
abo  u  t  fif  tee  n 

miles  the  Indians  were  obliged  to  abandon  their  stock,  and  again  take  to  the 
mountains.  But  the  troops  were  so  close  to  them  that  their  movements 
were  discernible,  and  one  after  another  was  hunted  down  until  all  were 
captured  but  three,  and  these  were  soon  induced  to  surrender. 

The  Indians  captured  consisted  of  Chief  Mangus,  two  warriors,  three 
women,  two  boys  capable  of  bearing  arms,  one  girl .  and  four  children  of 
various  ages.  On  the  30th  of  October  this  party  left  Fort  Apache  for  Flor- 
ida, Mangus  and  the  two  other  men  being  sent  to  Fort  Pickens,  and  the 
women  and  children  to  Fort  Marion.  One  of  the  men  died  on  the  way  but 
the  remainder  reached  Florida  safely  early  in  November. 

On  his  way  east  Mangus  made  a  desperate  attempt  to  escape  from  the 
train.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  handcuff  an  Indian  securely,  as  his  hands 
are  smaller  than  his  wrists,  and  on  this  occasion  Mangus  succeeded  in  re- 
moving his  handcuffs  without  being  observed.  Then  watching  his 


OFFICERS  WHO  WERE  ENGAGED  IN  THE  CAPTURE  OF  GEBONIMO  AT 
FORT  BOWIE,  ARIZONA. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


531 


INDIAN  WEAPONS  AND  GARMENTS. 


1.  Bow. 

2.  Arrows. 

3.  Sioux  Flageolet  or  Flute. 

4.  Cheyenne  Flute. 

5.  Cheyenne  Rattler. 

C.  Bow  Case  and  Quiver,  made  of  Panther  Skin. 


7.  Sioux  Rattle,  made  from  Ends  of  Buffalo  Toes. 

8.  Cheyenne  Moccasins,  Beautifully  Embroidered  wi  th 

Beads. 
8.    Cheyenne  Tobacco  Pouch. 

10.  Cheyenne  Beaded  Cradle. 

11.  Cheyenne  Squaw  Dress. 


532 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


opportunity  he  jumped  through  the  glass  of  the  window  by  which  he  had 
been  sitting,  though  he  must  have  known  that  the  chances  of  suicide  were 
many  to  one  of  his  escaping  alive.  The  train  was  stopped,  and  he  was 
found  in  a  stunned  condition,  though  not  seriously  injured.  He  is  still 
alive  and  with  the  tribe,  now  in  the  Indian  Territory. 

On  the  8th  of  November,  1887,  I  was  presented  by  the  citizens  of 
Arizona  with  a  very  beautifully  ornamented  sword  in  token  of  their 
appreciation  of  my  services  in  ridding  their  country  of  the  Apaches.  The 
ceremonies  attending  the  presentation  were  long  and  interesting,  com- 
mencing with  a  street  parade  at  12.30  and  ending  with  a  grand  reception 
and  ball  at  the  San  Xavier  Hotel,  Tucson,  in  the  evening. 

I  cannot  close  this  chapter  without  a  more  special  tribute  to  Lawton, 
Wood,  Hatfield,  Benson,  Wilder,  Brown,  Clarke  and  the  other  officers  who 
so  zealously,  courageously  and  persistently  pursued  the  hostiles  to  the  end. 
Their  services,  like  those  of  Bennett,  Hale,  Biddle,  Baldwin,  Snyder,  Baird, 
Maus,  Casey  and  others  who  supported  me  in  former  campaigns,  were 
invaluable  to  the  country.  They  have  passed  years  on  the  remote  frontier, 
some  of  them  with  their  families,  refined  and  gentle  people,  experiencing 
all  the  hardships  and  enjoying  few  of  the  ameliorations  of  army  life,  and 
their  services  and  those  of  many  like  them  cannot  be  too  highly  appreciated. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


533 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

,.  How  THE  REGULARS  ARE  TRAINED. 

REDUCED   EXPENSES   ON  THE   CESSATION   OF  INDIAN  HOSTILITIES  —  THE  NOGALES  DISTURBANCE  — 
TROUBLES    AT    SAN    CARLOS    RESERVATION  —  THE    EMERGENCIES    OF    PRESENT  MILI- 
TARY SERVICE  —  WHY  INDIANS  ARE  DIFFICULT  TO  CAPTURE  —  FIELD  SERVICE 
AND  ITS  VALUE  —  THE  FIELD  MANEUVERS  OF  1887  —  ORDERS  FOR 
THE  SAME  — THEIR  SUCCESS,  VALUE,  AND  RESULTS. 

FTER  the  cessation  of  hostilities  in  1886,  the  expenses  of  the 
Department  of  Arizona  were  reduced  at  the  rate  of  over  a 
million  dollars  per  annum.  The  troops  belonging  to  the 
Departments  of  Texas  and  California  were  returned  to  their 
respective  stations,  and  over  four  hundred  enlisted  scouts 
were  discharged.  In  December,  1886,  California,  south  of  the 
thirty-fifth  parallel  was  added  to  the  Department  of  Arizona, 
and  the  headquarters  were  fixed  at  Los  Angeles,  California. 
In  March,  1887,  a  disturbance  occurred  at  Nogales,  Arizona  Territory. 
This  town  is  situated  on  the  national  line  between  the  United  States  and 
Mexico,  and  at  that  time  the  population  was  about  equally  divided  between 
Americans  and  Mexicans.  Several  officers  belonging  to  the  Mexican  army 
crossed  over  to  the  American  side  of  the  town,  and  engaged  in  a  shooting 
escapade  with  certain 
local  civil  officers. 
Prompt  action  was 
taken  by  the  Mexican 
authorities,  and  the  of- 
fenders were  speedily 
punished;  but  as  Nog- 
ales  was  an  important 
place  and  other  difficul- 
ties were  likely  to  occur 
at  any  time,  I  stationed 
a  company  of  infantry 
in  the  vicinity  of  the 


SAN  CARLOS  MILITARY  CAMP. 


town,    with     the    most 


During  this  same   month,   a  young    Indian   named 


gratifying 
Nah-diz-az 


results, 
became 


534 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


dissatisfied  with  the  division  of  farming  land  made  by  Second  Lieutenant 
Seward  Mott,  Tenth  Cavalry,  who  was  on  duty  at  the  San  Carlos  reserva- 
tion, and  in  charge  of  Indian  farming  on  the  upper  Gila  River.  Owing  to 
this  dissatisfaction  and  the  fact  that  his  father  had  been  confined  by  Lieu- 
tenant Mott  for  disobedience  of  orders  and  using  threatening  language,  the 
Indian  shot  this  young  officer  on  the  9th  of  March,  wounding  him  so 
severely  as  to  cause  his  death  the  following  day.  and  thus  one  more  brave 
soldier,  the  victim  of  savage  passions,  found  a  last  resting  place 

"  Beneath  the  low  green  tent 
Whose  curtain  never  outward  swings." 

O 

On  the  San  Carlos  reservation,  in  a  mountainous,  arid  country,  were  more 
than  five  thousand  degraded,  barbarous  Indians  divided  into  various  tribes, 
chiefly  San  Carlos,  Yumas,  Mojaves,  Pimas  and  White  Mountain  Indians. 

Captain  Pierce,  who  had  charge  of  the  reservation, 
managed  their  affairs  well,  and  was  wonderfully 
successful  considering  the  circumstances  in  induc- 
ing them  to   work.     Nevertheless,  for  some  time 
they  had  been  a  menace  to  the  white  settlers  in 
the  country.     Several   disturbances  had  occurred, 
and  there  had   been  a  general  demand   for  their 
removal  on  the  part  of  the  principal  white  people 
of  the  territory.      Early  in  the  summer 
of  1887  an  outbreak  took  place  that  threat- 
ened to  be  of  the  most  serious  nature. 

It  occurred  in  this  way.  About  six 
months  previous  to  this  time  there  had 
been  a  "  tiswin  drunk "  among  the  In- 
dians at  San  Carlos,  in  which  a  very  pop- 
ular chief,  Toggy-da-shoose,  was  killed. 
The  friends  of  the  victim  in  their  turn 
quickly  and  unhesitatingly  despatched 
the  murderer,  and  in  this  way  a  deadly 
feud  was  created  between  two  bands. 
On  the  evening  of  May  28,  five  enlisted 
Indian  scouts  belonging  to  the  same  band  with  Toggy-da-shoose,  after 
another  carouse  of  tiswin,  went  without  permission  to  Arivaypa  Canon, 
and  there  killed  an  Indian  named  Rip,  who,  they  claimed,  had  been  the 
cause  of  the  chief's  death.  In  addition  to  this  they  threatened  the  life  of 
a  young  warrior  named  Kid  who  formed  one  of  the  atta'cking  party. 


TONTO  WARRIOR. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


535 


Five  other  Indians  accompanied  the  scouts,  and  they  were  all  absent 
about  five  days. 

On  their  return  they  went  to  the  tent  of  the  chief-of-scouts,  followed  by 
some  eight  or  ten  other  Indians,  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  commanding 
officer.  When  Captain  Pierce  appeared  he  ordered  them  to  lay  down  their 
arms  and  take  off  their  cartridge  belts.  They  had  already  complied  with 
this  command  when  some  commotion  arose  and  one  of  the  Indians  in  the 
rear  fired  a  shot.  At  this  the  chief-of-scouts 
stepped  back  into  his  tent  and  seized  his  rifle, 
a  general  breakout  occurred,  and  a  fusilade  of 
shots  was  fired.  The  Indians  continued  to  fire 
as  they  ran,  some  scouts  about  the  camp  return- 
ing the  fire.  The  insurgents  then  fled  to  the 
mountains  east  of  the  agency,  where  they  were 
quickly  followed  by  a  detachment  of  troops  under 
Lieutenant  Hughes. 

Upon  news  of  the  affair  reaching  headquar- 
ters, troops  from  the  various  posts  were  ordered 
to  occupy  tho  country  through  which  it  was 
likely  the  rebellious  Indians  would  pass.  There 
were  at  first  only  ten  men  in  the  party,  two  or 
three  of  whom  were  on  foot,  but  these  were 
afterward  joined  by  others.  They  were  pursued 
rapidly  and  incessantly  over  the  most  rugged  and 
mountainous  region  on  the  continent ;  no  matter  town  INDIAN  GIRL. 

in  what  direction  they  turned  they  found  that  troops  had  made  the  country 
unsafe  for  them,  while  a  pursuing  command  was  always  close  behind  them. 
In  some  respects  this  raid  varied  greatly  from  all  previous  ones,  as  the 
Indians  stole  but  very  little,  frequently  passing  through  herds  without 
molesting  the  cattle,  and  only  two  white  men  were  killed  during  the 
entire  time  they  remained  outside  the  reservation.  On  one  occasion, 
while  camped  on  the  crest  of  the  Rincon  Mountains  at  a  height  of  about 
seven  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level,  their  camp  was  surprised  by  the 
troops  under  Lieutenant  Carter  P.  Johnson  and  all  their  property,  includ- 
ing their  horses,  was  captured.  But  the  Indians  themselves  escaped  by 
sliding  or  crawling  down  over  ledges  of  rock.  From  this  point  they 
traveled  along  the  mountain  ranges  on  foot,  crossing  the  narrow  valleys 
at  night,  and  endeavored  to  take  refuge  in  the  Indian  camps  on  the  reser- 
vation, but  were  trailed  and  hunted  down  by  the  troops  to  their  retreat. 


536  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

On  the  13th  of  June  I  left  my  headquarters  to  visit  San  Carlos,  in 
order  to  personally  inquire  into  the  circumstances  attending  the  disturb- 
ance, and  to  direct  the  movements  of  the  pursuing  forces.  I  found  that 
from  a  thousand  to  twelve  hundred  Indians  had  left  their  camps,  aban- 
doned their  fields,  and  had  congregated  at  a  place  called  Coyote  Holes, 
where  they  assumed  a  most  threatening  attitude.  Here  they  held  their 
nightly  orgies  and  Indian  dances  and  were  harangued  by  their  medicine 
men,  whose  influence  was  decidedly  prejudicial  to  peace.  But  no  actual 
outbreak  occurred,  as  troops  were  stationed  at  proper  points  to  check  any 
further  disturbance. 

On  the  18th  of  June  one  of  the  renegades  surrendered.  As  he  had  been 
absent  nineteen  days,  I  sent  him  to  the  guardhouse  for  the  same  length  of 
time,  but  on  the  second  day  following  he  practically  turned  State's 
evidence  and  gave  information  concerning  the  movements  of  himself 
and  others,  so  I  remitted  his  sentence.  On  the  22d  eight  others  sur- 
rendered, followed  by  Kid  with  seven  companions  on  the  25th.  It  was 
believed  that  a  Yaqui  Indian  named  Miguel  was  the  instigator  of  the  whole 
affair.  According  to  the  best  obtainable  evidence  he  had  fired  the  shot 
that  opened  hostilities,  and  with  his  own  hand  had  killed  the  two  men 
who  had  been  murdered.  The  outbreak  was  evidently  unpremeditated  on 
the  part  of  most  of  the  Indians,  and  this,  added  to  the  fact  that  they  had 
committed  such  a  small  number  of  depredations,  entitled  them  to  some 
consideration.  Although  the  scouts  did  not  fully  comprehend  the  responsi- 
bility of  their  obligations  as  enlisted  men,  I  ordered  an  investigation  by  a 
general  court-martial  as  if  they  had  been  white  soldiers.  One  of  the  cul- 
prits was  afterward  condemned  to  suffer  death  but  this  sentence  was 
afterwards  remitted,  and  the  others  were  given  sentences  of  from  two  to 
twenty  years'  imprisonment.  The  disaffected  and  hostile  element  were 
finally  persuaded  and  forced  to  return  to  their  former  camps  without 
serious  hostilities,  and  thus  once  more  it  was  found  better  to  avoid  war 
than  to  end  one. 

Two  tribes  on  the  San  Carlos  agency,  the  Yumas  and  Mojaves,  had  for 
years  been  pleading  to  be  allowed  to  return  to  their  former  homes.  The 
place  where  they  were  located  along  the  Grila  River  was  so  intensely  hot. 
arid,  desolate  and  sickly  that  the  troops  on  duty  there  were  obliged  to  be 
changed  every  few  months  in  order  to  preserve  their  health.  The  excite- 
ment of  these  Indians  over  the  general  condition  of  affairs  was  greatly 
increased  by  the  earthquakes  which  occurred  in  that  vicinity  about  this 
time.  Part  of  these  Indians  were  anxious  to  be  returned  to  the  Colorado 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


537 


River  to  join  others  of  their  own  tribes  at  Yuma  and  Mojave,  while  still 
others  desired  to  go  to  the  vicinity  of  their  former  home  on  the  Fort  Verde 
reservation. 

The  White  Mountain  Indians  who  had  been  forced  to  go  to  the  Gila 
Valley  declared  they  would  rather  die  than  live  there.  They  were  told 
that  they  could  not  have  rations  if  they  did  not  remain,  and  they  said 
they  would  rather  go  back  to  their  own  country,  if  they  had  to  starve. 
They  did  go  back,  and  for  years  made  a  most  heroic  struggle  to  live  with- 
out receiving  rations  from  the  government.  They  cut  wood  and  hay  for 
Fort  Apache,  and  I  have  seen  their  women  go 
long  distances  and  cut  grass  with  knives  and  pack 
it  on  their  backs  to  the  post,  although  the  amount 
of  money  they  received  for  their  labor  was  exceed- 
ingly small. 

The  Navajo  Indians  of  New  Mexico  were  among 
the  largest  and  most  powerful  of  all  the  tribes, 
numbering  twenty  thousand  souls,  with  at  least 
four  thousand  men  capable  of  bearing  arms,  while 
they  were  at  the  same  time  rich  enough  to  supply 
themselves  with  the  most  improved  rifles,  with  an 
average  of  one  thousand  rounds  of  ammunition  per 
man.  This  being  the  case,  even  though  they  were 
practically  at  peace,  I  deemed  it  best  to  concentrate 
as  many  of  the  cavalry  as  possible  in  that  vicinity. 

Whenever  emergencies  had  arisen,  requiring 
active  field  service,  it  was  a  common  occurrence 
for  requests  or  reports  like  the  following  to  be 
received  at  headquarters:  "  Request  authority  to  employ  scouts; "  "  Guides; " 
"Experienced  trailers;"  "Men  familiar  with  the  habits  of  the  Indians  and 
topography  of  the  country,"  etc. ;  "  Trail  scattered ; "  "  Lost  trail  and 
command  returned  to  station  ; "  "  Misled  by  guides,"  etc.  The  condition  of 
affairs  indicated  by  such  applications  and  reports  ought  not  to  exist.  Troops 
serving  any  considerable  length  of  time  in  a  department  should  them- 
selves excel  in  an  accurate  and  thorough  knowledge  of  the  country  and  in 
skillful  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  While  garrison  duty,  target  practice,  drills 
and  parades  in  garrison  are  important,  yet  there  is  another  service  of 
vital  importance  the  moment  a  command  takes  the  field,  and  to  this  all 
other  duties  are  really  preparatory.  In  order  to  render  this  service 
entirely  effective  I  required  the  troops  to  devote  special  attention 


MOJAVE  RUNNERS. 


538  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

to  field  service  for  a  number  of  years,  and  with  the  most  gratifying 
results. 

The  element  of  strength  that  was  possessed  by  the  Indians  against 
which  the  troops  found  it  most  difficult  to  contend,  was  their  skill  in  pass- 
ing rapidly  over  the  country,  noting  every  feature  of  it,  and  observing  the 
movements  and  strength  of  their  enemies,  without  allowing  themselves 
to  be  discovered.  This  faculty  was  the  natural  outgrowth  of  the  fact  that 
generation  after  generation  of  the  Indians  had  followed  the  life  of  the 
hunter  and  warrior.  The  superior  intelligence  of  the  white  man  renders 
him  capable  of  acquiring  the  same  art  in  an  almost  equal  degree  if  given 
the  opportunity. 

While  the  chief  motive  of  drill  in  this  field  service  was  to  give  the 
troops  practice  that  would  enable  them  in  times  of  actual  hostility  to 
render  the  country  untenable  for  the  Indians,  yet  it  was  also  a  training  in- 
valuable to  the  officers  in  case  they  should  be  called  upon  for  service  in 
civilized  warfare;  for,  owing  to  the  small  size  of  the  regular  army,  the  same 
officers  that  might  in  this  practice  or  in  actual  Indian  campaigning  be  in 
command  of  a  small  detachment  of  troops,  are  liable  at  any  time  to  be 
suddenly  required  to  lead  a  division  or  a  corps,  should  the  necessity  sud- 
denly arise  for  greatly  increasing  the  army. 

For  these  reasons  I  determined  to  give  special  attention  to  field  ma- 
neuvers, and,  therefore,  while  in  command  of  the  Department  of  Arizona 
in  1887,  I  issued  the  following  orders : 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  ARIZONA,      ) 
Los  ANGELES,  CAL.,  August  20, 1887.  \ 
GENERAL  ORDERS  No.  24: 

I.  During  the  months  of  September  and  October  of  this  year  the  troops  of  this  De- 
partment will  be   considered  as  on   field  duty,  and  will   be  instructed  and   exercised  in  all 
that  pertains  to  the    practical    requirements   of  field   service.     During   those   months  all 
other  drills  and  duties  will,  as  far  as  practicable,  be  suspended,  except  the  target  and  sig- 
nal practice  required  by  orders  of  the  War   Department,  which  will  be  regulated  so  as  to 
admit  of  this  field  service. 

II.  On  September  1st,  post  commanders  will   occupy  their  districts  of  observation  by 
the  location  of  outposts,  signal  and  heliograph  stations,  and  establish   communications  with 
the  nearest  signal  stations  of  the  adjacent  posts. 

III.  During  the  first  fifteen  days  of   that  month  post  commanders  will,  if  necessary, 
make  themselves  familiar  with   the  topographical  features  of   the  district  of  country  within 
their  charge,  and  give  such  instructions  to   the  troops  of  their  commands  regarding  every 
detail  of  field  service  as  will  render  them  most  efficient  and  afford  them  a  knowledge  of  the 
general  features  of  the  country  in  which  they  are   serving,  and  give  to   them  that  general 
knowledge  of  the  geography  and  topography  of  the  country  as  will  enable  them  to  pass 
over  it  readily  without  the  aid  of  guides,  compass  or  maps. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  539 

IV.  Cavalry  troops  will  be  specially  instructed   in  movements  by  open  order  forma- 
tions.    To  this  end  care  will  be  taken  to  make  the  trooper  and   his  horse  the  unit  rather 
than  to  adhere  constantly  to  the  close  formation   of  a  troop,  with  a  view  of  training  the 
horses  to  act  separately  and  independently  of  the  close  column. 

V.  After  two  weeks  of  this  kind  of  practice,  the  commanding  officer  of  Fort  Huachuca, 
Arizona,  is  hereby  directed  to  send  out  a  detachment  of  troops  to  march  from  that  post  to 
Fort  Apache,  Arizona,  and  return,   via.  the  route  indicated   in  this  order.     This  raiding 
party  will  consist  of  two  officers  and  twenty  enlisted  men,  well  mounted  and  provided 
with  extra  horses,  and  sufficient  pack  animals  to  carry  the  necessary  baggage  and  camp 
equipage.     Pack  animals  will  not  be  required   to  carry  more  than  one  hundred  pounds 
per  mule,  all  superfluous  articles  being  left  in  the  post,  including  sabers,  revolvers,  curb 
bridles,  hobbles,  nose  bags,  extra  horse  equipments  and  camp  equipage  of  every  kind  that 
can  be  dispensed  with.     The  detachment  will  be  properly  rationed  and  is  authorized  to 
obtain  necessary  supplies  en  route  in  the  usual  form  and  to  carry  forty  rounds  of  ammu- 
nition per  man,  with  the  necessary  clothing.     It  will  start  from  Fort  Huachuca  at  noon 
on   September  17th  and  will  march  east  of  Fort   Bowie,  west  of  Fort   Grant,  touching 
the  limits  of  the   Fort  Lowell  district,  east  of  Fort  Thomas,  west  of  Apache  to  a  point 
north  of   that  post,  should  they  reach  that  point  without  being  captured. 

The  commanding  officer  will  then  notify  the  commanding  officer,  Fort  Apache,  by 
courier,  of  the  presence  of  his  detachment.  He  will  then  select  an  agreeable  camp  and 
send  to  Fort  Apache  for  supplies.  After  remaining  there  ten  days  they  will  return,  pass- 
ing east  of  Fort  Apache,  west  of  Fort  Thomas,  east  of  Fort  Grant,  and  west  of  Fort  Bowie, 
and  east  of  Dragoon  Station,  on  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  to  Fort  Huachuca.  In  starting 
from  Fort  Huachuca  they  will  be  allowed  from  12  M.  September  17,  until  6  A.  M.  the 
day  following,  before  being  followed  by  the  troops  from  Fort  Huachuca.  After  6  A.  M. 
September  18,  they  will  remain  in  camp  until  12  M.  of  that  day,  and  after  that  time  they 
will  be  limited  in  marches  to  the  hours  between  12  M.  and  midnight  of  each  day.  The 
commanding  officer  of  the  detachment  will  select  (within  the  above  described  limits)  his 
own  line  of  march  and  conceal  his  men  and  camps  according  to  his  own  judgment.  Both 
officers  and  men  of  the  detachment  should  fully  understand  the  course  to  be  taken  and 
places  of  rendezvoux,  in  order  to  assemble  again,  whenever  it  becomes  necessary  to 
separate  because  of  close  pursuit,  or  to  avoid  discovery. 

VI.  Post  commanders  will  conceal  their  troops  and  establish  lookouts  in  such  way  as 
to  discover,  surprise  and  capture  the  detachment  above  mentioned,  if  possible,  and  in  any 
event  they  are  directed  to  have  the  raiding  party  pursued  until  a  fresh  command  is  on 
the  trail.     Information  concerning  the  party  to  be  pursued  will  be  communicated  with  the 
least  possible  delay  by  heliograph,  telegraph  or  courier  to  the  different  post  commanders 
and  to  all  troops  placed  to  intercept  them. 

VII.  Reports  will  be  made  by  post  commanders  by  telegraph  to  these  headquarters 
daily,  of  any  observation  of  the  raiding  party,  their  movements  and  efforts  made  to  capture 
them.     The  party  or  any  portion  of  them  will  be  regarded  as  captured  whenever  another 
detachment  or  command  of  equal  numbers  gets  within  hailing  distance  or  within  bugle 
sound. 

The  Commanding  Officers  at  Forts  Bowie  and  Grant,  will  send  one  officer  or  non- 
commissioned officer,  provided  with  two  horses  each,  to  accompany  the  party  and  act  as 
witnesses  in  case  any  question  should  arise  as  to  the  rules  to  be  followed  or  results.  In  case 


540  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

of  capture  the  detachment  will  march  to  the  nearest  post  and   another  raiding  party  will 
be  immediately  ordered  from  these  headquarters. 

Similar  movements  will  be  made  in  the  District  of  New  Mexico  by  a  detachment  of 
cavalry  from  Fort  Wingate,  N.  M.,  moving  around  Fort  Bayard  and  returning  to  its 
station  ;  also  one  from  Fort  Stanton  around  Fort  Bayard  and  return  to  its  station,  each 
going  at  some  time  within  ten  miles  of  that  post  and  orders  for  marching  and  concealment 
of  each  will  be  the  same  as  those  directed  for  Fort  Huachuca. 

Care  will  be  taken  to  avoid  breaking  down  either  the  troop  horses  or  pack  animals,  or 
stampeding  or  injuring  any  stock  or  property  of  citizens. 

At  the  close  of  the  period  for  field  practice,  post  commanders  will  call  for  suggestions 
from  officers  and  men  of  their  commands,  and  make  brief  reports  of  results  and  mention 
any  defects  in  the  equipment  of  their  command  or  anything  that  would  tend  to  promote 
their  efficiency. 

Post  Commanders  will  retain  communication  with  their  detachments  sufficient  to  enable 
them  to  recall  them  to  their  stations  without  delay  in  case  of  necessity. 

By  command  of  Brigadier-General  MILES: 

J.  A.  DAPRAY,  Second  Lieutenant  Twenty-third  Infantry,  A.  D.  C. 

A.  A.  A.  General. 

An  officer  in  command  of  a  raiding  force  was  credited  with  the  capture 
of  a  military  post  if  he  succeeded  in  getting  his  command  during  daylight 
within  one  thousand  yards  of  the  flagstaff  of  that  post. 

The  movements  directed  during  the  months  of  September  and  October 
were  continued  during  parts  of  October  and  November,  and  embraced  the 
country  between  Fort  Huachuca,  Arizona,  and  Fort  Stanton,  New  Mexico, 
and  between  Fort  Wingate,  New  Mexico,  and  Fort  Apache,  Arizona,  a 
mountainous  region  three  hundred  miles  in  extent  east  and  west,  and 
nearly  the  same  distance  north  and  south. 

This  series  of  practical  maneuvers,  considering  their  initiatory  or  experi- 
mental nature  were  in  the  main  very  satisfactory,  and  the  experience 
gained  by  officers  and  troops  engaged  in  them  were  of  incalculable  value. 
The  results  of  ten  distinct  field  maneuvres  covering  an  area  of  hundreds 
of  miles  in  extent  may  be  stated  in  brief  as  follows:  On  five  different 
occasions  the  raiding  parties  were  overtaken  and  captured  by  the  troops  in 
pursuit,  commanded  respectively  by  Captains  Chaffee,  Wood  and  Stanton, 
and  Lieutenants  Scott  and  Pershing,  notwithstanding  that  every  device  was 
adopted  to  annoy  and  deceive  the  pursuers  by  dispersing,  destroying  trails 
by  having  herds  of  cattle  driven  over  them,  by  false  maneuvers,  etc. 

On  five  occasions  different  detachments  commanded  by  Captains  Wint, 
Wallace  and  Kendall,  and  Lieutenants  Richards  and  McGrath,  misled  and 
eluded  their  pursuers,  but  were  discovered  and  intercepted  by  the  troops 
in  advance  who  were  lying  in  wait  for  them. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  541 

Captain  Wallace  started  from  Fort  Bayard,  New  Mexico,  captured  the 
command  sent  in  pursuit  of  him,  and  avoiding  the  troops  in  advance  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  Fort  Stanton,  New  Mexico,  but  was  captured  by  Lieu- 
tenant Pershing  in  endeavoring  to  return. 

Captain  Wint  started  from  Fort  Lowell,  Arizona  Territory,  and  escaping 
from  his  pursuers  and  eluding  the  troops  sent  to  intercept  him,  remained 
several  days  in  their  vicinity  in  the  Graham  Mountains,  and  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  Fort  Apache,  with  the  loss  of  but  four  men,  captured. 
Returning,  he  skillfully  misled  and  avoided  the  command  in  pursuit, 
capturing  a  second  command  endeavoring  to  intercept  him,  but  was  finally 
captured  by  a  third  command  to  which  one  of  his  captives  had  deserted 
and  given  information  of  his  presence.  This  was  one  of  the  longest  and 
most  successful  expeditions  of  the  series. 

Lieutenant  C.  P.  Johnson  made  one  of  the  most  successful  and  remark- 
able raids,  exhibiting  much  originality  in  planning  and  skill  in  executing. 

He  started  from  Fort  Grant  to  circle  or  capture  Fort  Lowell  (distance 
approximately  one  hundred  miles  to  the  south  of  west) ;  to  accomplish 
this  same  with  Fort  Huachuca  (distance  approximately  one  hundred 
and  twenty  miles),  and  also  Fort  Bowie,  forty-two  miles  south  of  Fort 
Grant. 

Starting  from  Fort  Grant  he  scattered  his  command,  partially  obliter- 
ating his  trail  by  getting  his  command  upon  a  heavy,  sandy  road  that  ran 
north  and  south  but  a  few  miles  west  of  the  fort ;  under  cover  of  night  he 
moved  north  instead  of  southwest,  as  he  was  expected  to  do.  This  sandy 
road  was  used  by  heavy  teams  hauling  copper  ore  from  Globe  to  Wilcox 
on.  the  Southern  Pacific  road. 

The  troops  that  were  put  in  pursuit  from  Grant  moved  west  and  south- 
west, lost  the  scattered  trail  and  spent  two  weeks  in  endeavoring  to  find 
some  trace  of  this  lost  command. 

The  commanding  officer  went  to  Fort  Lowell  for  supplies  and  finally 
gave  up  the  pursuit  in  despair. 

Notwithstanding  troops  were  on  the  lookout  for  Lieutenant  Johnson 
from  Grant,  Lowell,  Huachuca  and  Bowie,  he  was  for  three  weeks  as  com- 
pletely lost  as  if  he  had  disappeared  in  a  cavern  in  the  earth,  or  in  mid-air. 
Instead  of  going  in  the  direction  of  Fort  Lowell,  as  he  pretended  to  do,  he 
reversed  his  course,  struck  the  Globe  and  Wilcox  road,  moved  past  his  own 
station  (Grant),  and  within  a  few  miles  of  it,  going  north  about  thirty-five 
miles  to  the  crossing  of  the  Gila  River,  then  moved  down  the  river  for 
about  twenty  miles,  leaving  no  more  trail  behind  him  than  a  bird  in  the 


542  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

air.  This  skillful  movement  brought  his  command  a  long  distance  to  the 
northwest  and  in  a  broken,  mountainous  country. 

In  this  section  he  concealed  his  command,  moving  still  further  to  the 
west  under  cover  of  the  Santa  Catarena  Mountains  and  timber  and  the 
darkness  of  the  night  with  as  much  celerity  and  secrecy  as  an  Indian  or  a 
panther.  Gradually  beai'ing  south,  in  the  gray  of  the  morning  he  passed 
to  the  west  and  south  of  Fort  Lowell,  thus  encircling  that  military  post  as 
he  rode  rapidly  through  the  town  of  Tucson,  about  eight  miles  from  Fort 
Lowell,  while  the  occupants  of  that  town  were  wrapped  in  blissful  slumber. 

Knowing  he  would  be  pursued  by  troops  from  Lowell  he  made  rapidly 
to  the  southwest  for  twenty-five  miles  to  the  Santa  Rita  Mountains,  where 
he  again  scattered  his  command  and  by  a  series  of  false  movements,  decoys 
and  skillful  maneuvers,  threw  his  pursuers  off  his  trail  and  threatened 
Fort  Huachuca,  and  while  pretending  to  circle  that  post  to  the  south  he 
suddenly  disappeared  and,  moving  west  a  good  distance,  made  a  forced 
march  across  country  and  surprised  Fort  Bowie. 

•Under  the  rule  he  was  allowed  to  remain  ten  days  for  rest.  The 
colonel  commanding  Fort  Huachuca  reported  this  young  officer  as  having 
disregarded  his  orders  and  that  he  had  not  circled  that  post,  little  thinking 
that  the  maneuvers  were  intended  as  a  blind. 

After  quietly  resting  ten  days  Lieutenant  Johnson  apparently  made  all 
preparations  to  move  north  from  Bowie  to  Grant.  After  leaving  the 
former  post  he  suddenly  reversed  his  course  and  moving  rapidly  and 
secretly  across  the  country,  succeeding  in  getting  his  command  within  a 
thousand  yards  of  the  flagstaff  of  Fort  Huachuca,  surprised  and  captured 
the  post  and  garrison  of  six  troops  of  cavalry. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  chagrin  and  envy  felt  by  the  officers  of  the 
garrison  was  very  great,  for  they  were  a  proud,  spirited  and  enterprising 
class  of  men.  In  fact,  the  feeling  amounted  almost  to  hostility  against  this 
officer,  though  they  were  very  gracious  to  him  and  extended  to  him  every 
civility  and  hospitality  during  his  stay  of  ten  days  for  rest  and  recuperation. 

He  had  still  a  most  difficult  problem  to  solve.  He  was  more  than  one 
hundred  miles  from  his  own  station,  and  when  once  he  started  from 
Huachuca  he  was  sure  to  be  pursued  by  the  picked  troopers  from  that 
garrison,  and  in  addition  to  this  he  must  contend  against  the  vigilance  of 
those  on  the  lookout  from  Bowie  and  Grant,  for  he  must  return  to  his  own 
post  either  as  victor  or  captive. 

After  a  good  rest  and  ample  time  to  study  the  maps  and  topography  of 
the  country  between  Huachuca  and  Grant,  Lieutenant  Johnson  marched 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  543 

out  at  twelve  o'clock,  noon,  for  his  movement  against  Fort  Grant.  Under 
the  rule  he  was  allowed  eighteen  hours  before  he  could  be  pursued — six 
hours  of  day  and  twelve  hours  of  night. 

Sleuth  hounds  never  tugged  harder  at  the  leash,  thoroughbred  racers 
never  champed  the  bit  with  more  impatience  than  did  those  Fourth 
Cavalry  troopers  to  be  set  loose  on  the  trail  or  in  pursuit  of  the  successful 
raiders,  while  there  was  the  wildest  excitement  concerning  its  success  on 
the  part  of  the  pursued  party,  and  the  most  intense  enthusiasm  on  the 
part  of  the  pursuers.  Fortunately  the  command  was  entrusted  to  an  able 
and  experienced  cavalry  officer,  Captain  A.  Wood,  who  demonstrated  his 
skill  and  good  judgment,  who  instead  of  following  the  circuitous  trail  and 
false  maneuvers,  with  the  disadvantage  of  a  stern  chase,  moved  directly 
across  country  by  a  forced  march  of  seventy  miles  to  a  pass  in  a  range  of 
mountains  that  he  believed  Lieutenant  Johnson  would  pass  through  but 
not  where  any  of  his  trails  would  indicate  he  was  going.  Towards  this 
gap  Captain  Wood's  troop  marched  at  a  rapid  pace  and  reached  it  as  the 
sun  was  low  in  the  afternoon.  Now  the  thing  to  be  accomplished  was  to 
find  if  Lieutenant  Johnson's  command  was  concealed  in  the  vicinity. 

In  these  maneuvers  it  was  not  uncommon  for  the  commanding  officer 
to  bribe  the  citizens  to  make  false  reports,  or  to  give  them  erroneous 
information  in  order  that  they  might  convey  the  same  misleading  intelli- 
gence to  their  pursuers. 

Lieutenant  Johnson  had  evidently  missed  one  civilian  for,  as  Captain 
Wood  was  looking  for  signs  of  the  pursued  party  or  for  some  trace  of  the 
raiders,  he  discovered  a  lone  missionary  traveling  through  that  country, 
who,  on  being  questioned  whether  he  had  seen  anything  of  a  command  of 
soldiers,  stated  that  he  had  passed  a  small  company  just  going  into  camp 
in  a  little  pocket  of  the  mountains  about  five  miles  away.  This  was 
a  revelation  and  a  boon  for  this  accomplished  cavalry  leader  and  within 
a  very  short  time  his  bugles  sounded  the  command  for  Lieutenant  John- 
son's surrender  after  his  very  long  and  very  successful  raid. 

Thus,  Captain  Wood's  good  j  udgment,  enterprise  and  hard  ride  of  seventy- 
five  miles  was  rewarded  with  most  gratifying  and  most  creditable  success. 

This  ended  one  of  the  most  skillful  of  the  interesting  practical  field 
maneuvers.  Lieutenant  Johnson  is  a  fair  representative  of  those  Vir- 
ginians like  Stuart,  Ashby  and  other  brillant  cavalry  leaders.  He  in- 
formed me  that  while  a  part  of  his  plan  was  to  capture  the  department 
commander,  in  which  he  was,  however,  not  successful,  he  believed  if  he 
could  destroy  the  telegraph  lines  he  could  make  a  successful  raid  from 

M.— 82 


544 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


Arizona  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard  and  avoid  the  troops  in  the  intermediate 
districts  of  the  country. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  untimely  death  by  a  cruel  and  painful 
disease  has  deprived  the  service  of  so  accomplished  an  officer  as  Captain 
Wood,  whose  record,  during  the  great  war,  on  the  Western  frontier  and  in 
the  field  of  military  literature  was  most  creditable  and  valuable. 

The  results  attained  in  this  field  maneuvering  were  most  pleasing. 
The  excellent  judgment  and  intelligence  displayed  by  the  commanding 
officers  of  the  districts  of  observation  in  the  disposition  of  their  troops, 
the  use  made  of  the  means  of  observation  and  communication,  the  zeal 
and  skill  exhibited  by  officers  in  the  field,  and  the  very  great  interest 
taken  in  these  operations  by  the  troops,  were  all  most  gratifying. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


545 


CHAPTER  XLII. 
THE  ARID  REGION  AND  IRRIGATION. 

THE  CONDITIONS  OP  THE  ARID   REGION  —  A  RICH  SOIL,  BUT  A  LACK  or  RAINFALL  —  WHAT  THE 
ARID  BELT  INCLUDES — AREA  AND  PROPORTION  IRRIGATED — THE  SUB-HUMID  REGION  —  THE 
STANDARD   OP  HUMIDITY  —  SCIENCE  AND   PERSONAL  EXPERIENCE  —  IDEA  OF  FARMING 
BY  IRRIGATION  NEW   TO  THE  SAXON  —  THE  INSTANCE  OP  CALIFORNIA  —  IRRIGA- 
TION    IN     HISTORY  —  UNIVERSAL     EFFICIENCY     OP     THE     SYSTEM  —  THE 
MEASURES  TAKEN    BY  THE   GOVERNMENT  —  THE  ACTION  OF  STATES 
—  COST  —  REASONS     FOR     FURTHER     GOVERNMENT     ACTION. 

AVING  crossed  the  imaginary  line  which  divides  the  old  and  well- 
known  farming  region,  to  which  we  are  all  accustomed,  from 
the  newer  West,  we  instantly  encounter  new  conditions,  re- 
quiring a  system  of  farming  new  to  the  ideas  of  the  Saxon. 

There  is  a  vast  tract  there  where  the  rainfall  is  so  small 
that  it  imposes  new  conditions,  though  the  soil  is  rich  and  the 
climate  much  more  favorable  to  agriculture  than  that  of  New 
England,  or  even  that  of  the  Middle  States.  This  region  is  now 
known  as  the  "  arid  belt,"  and  its  boundaries  are  well  defined.  Its  extent 
is  enormous.  It  includes  Montana,  Wyoming,  Colorado,  Utah,  Idaho, 
Nevada,  Arizona,  and  New  Mexico,  with  those  portions  of  North  and  South 
Dakota,  Kansas,  and  Nebraska  which  lie  west  of  the  one  hundredth 
meridian,  with  large  portions  of  southern  and  western  Texas,  and  all  of 
California  south  of  the  thirty-ninth  parallel.  The  eastern  two-thirds  of 
Oregon  are  also  included,  with  one-third  of  Washington. 

The  area  of  this  vast  territory  includes  1,340,000  square  miles.  In  1890 
the  irrigated  portion  of  it  was  about  one-half  of  one  per  cent  of  the  whole. 
Associated  with  the  lack  of  rainfall  is  a  dryness  of  the  air  which  desic- 
cates the  foliage  of  vegetation,  and  in  much  of  this  region  a  scanty  growth, 
accustomed  to  the  vicissitudes  of  the  climate,  alone  survives.  The  clouds 
evaporated  from  the  Pacific  are  precipitated  on  the  western  coast.  Those 
of  the  Atlantic  rain  themselves  out  on  the  eastern.  Those  formed  by  the 
Great  Lakes  and  the  Gulf  seldom  pass  beyond  one  hundred  miles  west- 
ward of  the  west  line  of  Missouri. 

There  is  a  sub-humid  region   lying  on  the  borders  of  the  area  given. 
The  standard   of  humidity  which   has  been   fixed   for  aridness  is  twenty 


546 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


inches  of  rainfall,  or  less,  annual  average  for  a  period  of  years.  There  is  no 
region  within  the  boundaries  of  the  United  States  where  it  may  be  said  never 
to  rain  at  all.  Sometimes,  at  irregular  intervals,  on  the  high  plains  of  the 
west  the  rainfall  within  a  few  hours  is  of  immense  volume.  There  is  a 
want  of  seasonableness  and  regularity,  and  many  months,  or  even  some- 
times an  entire  year,  may  pass  without  a  copious  rain.  There  are,  there- 
fore, in  the  sub-arid  area  fine  crop-years  occasionally.  These  fruitful  years 
come  still  more  frequently  in  the  eastern  portions  of  the  belts.  An  entire 
failure  of  all  crops  does  not  often  occur  in  the  latter  region,  and  a  full 
crop  may  at  long  intervals  be  made  in  all  except  the  dryest  areas  of  the 
vast  territory  named. 

During  the  past  thirty  years  most  of  the  facts  stated  have  been  learned 
experimentally  by  actual  settlers.  The  universal  American  enterprise  car- 
ried thousands  of  families  at  least  to  the  edge  of  the  arid  region,  and 
many  hundreds  of  them  into  its  very  heart.  There  is  an  unwritten  history 
of  these  enterprises.  Meantime  science  has  not  been  idle,  and  the 
labors  of  practical  meteorologists  have  defined  and  mapped  the  boundaries 
of  aridness,  and  have  discovered  its  causes.  There  is  but  one  remedy 
—  irrigation. 

As  stated,  the  idea  of  farming  by  irrigation  is  new  to  the  Saxon  mind, 

though  it  is  one  of  the  oldest  arts 
of  civilization.  With  this  man,  to 
whom  it  is  new,  it  is  more  success- 
ful when  once  he  has  adopted  it 
than  it  is  in  any  other  hands. 
Southern  California,  a  new  land  to 
Americans  from  the  east,  is  an  ex- 
ample. Within  the  memory  of 
most  readers  it  was  a  hopeless  des- 
ert, with  an  oasis  here  and  there 
around  which  all  there  was  of  the 
Spanish  civilization  had  clustered. 
American  ingenuity,  tempted  by  a 
climate  which  has,  perhaps,  no  parallel  in  the  world,  found  new  sources  of 
water.  The  highest  resources  of  modern  engineering  science  were  applied, 
and  mechanical  skill  of  the  first  order  was  brought  to  bear.  Artesian  wells 
were  sunk  where  the  existence  of  water  beneath  the  surface  had  never  before 
been  suspected,  and  flowing  wells,  which  surprise  the  eye  and  seem  miracu- 
lous, water  hundreds  of  the  richest  acres  of  the  world.  Tunnels  have 


ARTESIAN  WELLS. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  547 

been  bored  into  the  mountains.  Ditches  were  lined  with  cement  to  pre- 
vent the  seepage  which  had  wasted  half  the  water  in  all  old  systems.  Miles 
of  piping  have  been  laid.  Mountain  springs  have  been  found  and  their  waters 
carried  long  distances  at  vast  expense.  The  results  are  now  known  to  all 
the  world  as  something  marvelous  in  an  age  of  marvels.  The  work  has 
not  yet  come  to  an  end,  and  the  time  may  come  when  hardly  an  arable 
acre  in  all  that  wonderful  region  will  be  unwatered  and  idle. 

This  is  but  an  instance,  though  perhaps  the  foremost  one,  of  the 
practical  results  of  modern  irrigation.  Yet  systems  even  still  more 
colossal  have  been  made,  used,  and  have  passed  away,  upon  American  soil. 
The  most  extensive  of  these  remains  are  found  in  Arizona,  a  region  then 
and  now  almost  the  heart  of  aridness,  and  yet  one  that  was  once  occupied 
by  choice  by  the  unknown  people  of  an  unknown  time,  who  lived  and 
toiled  in  those  valleys  which  have  not  since  their  time  been  occupied,  and 
which  have  long  since  reverted  to  the  primeval  desert. 

History  makes  it  clear  that  irrigation  has  entered  largely  into  the 
story  of  all  the  older  races.  The  great  canal  which  connected  Pelusium 
with  the  Red  Sea  was  an  irrigating  ditch.  The  greatest  work  of  the  kind 
ever  made  was  in  Arabia.  It  existed  before  the  time  of  Solomon,  and  was 
fed  by  a  dam  two  miles  long  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  and  it 
endured  for  two  thousand  years.  The  historic  plains  of  Assyria  and 
Babylon  were  all  irrigated.  The  Hebrews  lived  in  Goshen  under  Pharaoh, 
and  grew  wealthy  and  numerous  as  farmers  under  a  system  of  irrigation. 
The  ancient  Peruvians  and  Mexicans  had  an  immense  irrigation  system. 
Lombardy,  in  Europe,  has  at  the  present  time  an  extensive  system  which 
the  modern  Lombards  inherited  from  the  Romans,  and  in  which  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  waters  is  a  function  of  the  government.  Some  of  the 
oldest  lands  of  history  are  now  all  arid,  having  in  their  day  grown  rich 
and  powerful  solely  because  they  farmed  these  arid  lands  from  choice,  and 
with  a  water  supply  altogether  artificial.  Historically  considered,  the 
moist  lands  and  the  humid  regions  were  the  last  to  be  occupied  by  a  high 
civilization,  and  among  the  original  enterprises  of  mankind  was  the 
making  certain  of  the  food  supply  without  reference  to  the  uncertain 
rainfall  of  any  given  year. 

Historic  irrigation  had  two  ends,  one  was  to  secure  regularity  of  supply 
in  regions  where  the  natural  rainfall  was  almost,  or  quite  normal,  the 
other  to  redeem  lands  absolutely  arid.  Almost  all  the  irrigation  of  modern 
Europe  is  of  the  first  class.  It  has  been  practiced  in  England  for  a  long 
period,  but  mainly  with  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  yield  of  hay  on 


548  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

low-lying  meadows.  There  is  in  fact  no  agricultural  region  where  an  artifi- 
cial means  of  watering  the  fields  would  not  be  of  immense  advantage.  There 
are  times  in  all  lands  where  the  rain  which  is  needed  does  not  come,  and 
where  when  not  needed,  there  may  be  a  heavy  fall.  Stimulated  by  the 
example  of  irrigation  in  the  far  West,  the  time  is  coming  when  systems 
will  be  established  in  the  regions  of  greatest  rainfall,  where  unused 
streams  abound,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  control  over  the  water 
supply  for  growing  crops.  Instances  of  irrigating  systems  exist  now  in 
nearly  all  the  arable  fields  lying  near  our  great  cities,  where  vegetables 
are  grown  for  market.  The  light,  cheap  and  efficient  American  windmill 
is  seen  whirling  in  all  the  summer  breezes,  though  it  is  often  the  case  that 
in  the  aggregate  there  is  rather  too  much  than  too  little  rainfall. 

Rice,  rather  than  wheat,  is  the  staple  food  of  the  majority  of  mankind. 
Millions  subsist  upon  it  as  the  staple,  almost  the  only  food.  There  are 
varieties  that  grow  without  irrigation,  but  that  necessity  exists  in  nearly 
all  rice-growing  regions,  and  is  used  in  the  production  of  all  of  that  grain 
that  reaches  the  market.  This  fact  alone  is  an  index  of  the  age  and  wide 
extent  of  a  system  that  until  recently  has  been  quite  ignored  by  us,  though 
we  are  even  now  one  of  the  greatest  agricultural  nations  of  the  world. 

The  question  of  irrigation  in  the  United  States  has  in  recent  years 
become  a  topic  of  absorbing  interest.  The  public  lands  which  are  arable 
and  lie  in  the  humid  and  sub-humid  regions  are  practically  all  now  occu- 
pied, and  the  process  of  spreading  out  and  occupying  has  had  its  first  check. 
Yet,  the  soil  of  the  arid  region  is  very  rich.  There  is  every  inducement  to 
settlement  if  there  were  only  a  certainty  of  even  a  half  supply  of  water. 
So  recently  has  the  emergency  confronted  us  that  no  action  has  as  yet 
been  taken  by  the  general  government  beyond  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mission to  investigate  general  facts,  and  establish  boundaries,  and  whose 
final  report  has  never  been  acted  upon.  The  various  States  and  Territories 
have  locally  interested  themselves.  The  instances  of  successful  irrigation 
in  southern  California  have  been  mentioned,  and  exist  elsewhere  in  locali- 
ties far  apart  over  a  wide  area.  But  they  may  be  said  truly  to  hardly 
affect  the  general  situation,  which  is  one  of  great  magnitude  and  vast  im- 
portance. These  beginnings  have  led  to  investigation  and  imitation,  and 
the  following  are  some  of  the  facts  that  now  appear. 

According  to  the  census  of  1890  Colorado  had  under  irrigation  4,068,409 
acres,  or  about  6,337  square  miles.  Arizona  had  65,821  acres;  New 
Mexico,  91,745  acres;  Wyoming,  229,676  acres;  Montana,  350,582  acres. 
California  exceeds  the  largest  of  these  figures,  and  there  is  a  still  smaller 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


549 


acreage  in  Idaho,  Washington  and  Oregon.  It  will  be  seen  how  small  a 
proportion  of  the  area  of  these  regions  is  at  this  date  under  the  domin- 
ion of  the  plow. 

The  cost  is  at  present  great.  In  California  the  cost,  including  all 
necessary  ditches,  is  from  ten  to  twenty  dollars  per  acre.  In  the  same 
State  at  least  twelve 
inches  depth  of  water 
per  annum  are  required 
for  raising  cereal  crops. 
One  cubic  foot  of  water 
every  second  for  twenty- 
four  hours  covers  two 
acres  with  nearly  twelve 
inches  of  water.  At 
this  rate  of  flow  it  re- 
quires one  hundred  days 
to  cover  two  hundred 
acres  with  the  requisite 
aggregate  depth,  given 
at  intervals,  to  raise  a 
cereal  crop. 

Comparing  this  with  the  average  rainfall  in  the  humid  regions  will  con- 
vey some  idea  of  the  relative  situation.  In  the  grain  States  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley  the  farmer  has  upon  his  land  an  annual  rainfall  almost  never 
less  than  thirty  inches,  and  often  reaching  fifty  inches.  But  it  often  comes 
when  it  is  not  wanted,  and  very  often  fails  when  it  is.  The  great  crop 
years  are  distinguished  not  by  volume  of  rainfall,  but  by  equable  and 
timely  distribution. 

It  is  rapidly  becoming  a  settled  conviction  that  individual  enterprise 
can  never  entirely  and  adequately  solve  the  problem  of  Western  irrigation. 
The  task  is  a  vast  one,  extending  far  beyond  State  lines  and  individual 
interests.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  there  are  vast  areas  of  the  public  do- 
main still  remaining  unoccupied,  which  seem  to  require  an  intelligent  and 
judicious  system  of  improvement  by  the  government  in  order  that  the  best 
results  may  be  obtained  in  their  settlement,  and,  in  order  to  prevent  a 
small  percentage  of  the  people  from  taking  possession  of  the  water-courses 
and  holding  them  exclusively  for  their  own  benefit,  thereby  shut- 
ting out  all  others  from  the  occupation  of  a  much  larger  portion,  and  prac- 
tically controlling  the  use  of  thousands  of  square  miles  of  the  public 


SWEETWATER  DAM. 


550  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

domain,  it  might  be  well  for  the  government  to  devise  some  system  by 
which  these  lands  may  be  utilized  and  colonized  for  the  benefit  of  the 
home-builders  who  constitute  our  best  population. 

There  is  another  view  of  this  matter  which  should  not  fail  to  be  duly 
considered.  Within  the  last  few  years  we  have  witnessed  the  terrible  re- 
sults occasioned  by  drought,  and  half  crops  or  total  failures  have  been 
reported  throughout  many  of  the  States  and  Territories.  We  have  also 
noticed  that  this  has  resulted  in  a  very  large  percentage  of  the  land  in  sev- 
eral of  the  States  and  Territories  referred  to  being  placed  under  very 
heavy  mortgages,  and  should  this  evil  continue  for  a  series  of  years  no  one 
can  anticipate  what  result  may  follow.  That  good  results  can  be  produced  by 
a  scientific  and  judicious  control  of  the  water- courses  of  the  Western  country 
is  a  fact  so  well  established  that  it  does  not  require  argument.  We  have 
reached  that  period  in  which  attention  should  be  drawn  to  this  important 
subject,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  question  of  water-storage  and  irri- 
gating works  in  the  arid  regions  of  our  Western  country  has  been  engrossing 
the  attention  of  the  citizens  residing  west  of  the  one  hundredth  meridian 
more  in  the  past  few  years  than  ever  before. 

While  the  people  of  nearly  every  State  and  Territory  west  of  that 
meridian  have  carefully  considered  the  question,  and  while  their  legislators 
have  enacted  various  local  laws  bearing  upon  it,  the  federal  government 
but  recently  took  up  the  matter  by  an  act  of  Congress  authorizing  the 
investigation  of  the  subject  to  ascertain  to  what  extent  the  arid  regions 
of  the  United  States  can  be  benefited  by  irrigation.  It  stipulated  that 
$100,000  be  appropriated  for  topographical  surveys  for  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June  30,  1889,  or  any  part  thereof,  to  be  used  by  the  Director  of 
the  Geological  Survey,  Major  Powell,  with  the  approval  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  feasibility  of  providing 
reservoirs  of  water  with  a  view  to  the  establishing  of  a  system  of  irriga- 
tion of  the  lands  in  question,  and  Major  Powell  was  directed  to  make  his 
report  to  Congress  at  as  early  a  date  as  was  practicable.  Upon  his  report, 
and  the  recommendation  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  the  $100,000 
was  supplemented  by  an  additional  appropriation  of  $250,000  during  a 
succeeding  session  of  Congress,  and  by  the  passage  of  an  act  authorizing  a 
further  investigation  of  the  arid  region.  A  committee  of  senators  was 
appointed  to  visit  the  arid  regions  of  the  different  western  States  and 
Territories  the  following  summer.  It  completed  its  work  of  investigation, 
was  on  the  road  some  fifty  days,  traveling  in  that  time  about  twelve  thou- 
sand miles,  and  taking  the  testimony  of  hundreds  of  witnesses. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


551 


These  were  the  first  steps  taken  by  the  general  government  toward  the 
utilization  of  what  is  commonly  called  desert  land.  The  bill  reserves  all 
lands  that  may  hereafter  be  designated  for  reservoirs  and  ditches,  and  the 
lands  to  be  reclaimed  by  irrigation  from  such  reservoirs,  from  the  date  of 
the  passage  of  the  act,  and  provides  that  the  President  may,  from  time  to 
time,  remove  any  of  the  reservations  made  by  the  bill,  and  in  his  discre- 
tion, by  proclamation,  open  any  portion  or  all  of  the  lands  reserved  by  the 
provision  to  settlement  under  the  homestead  laws.  This,  however,  might, 
with  benefit,  be  modified  so  as  to  fix  the  price  of  such  lands,  so  improved 
by  the  general  government,  at  such  a  rate  per  acre  as  will  compensate  it 
for  the  expense  of  such  improvement.  The  sums  appropriated,  it  is  hoped, 
are  but  the  commencement  of  necessary  appropriations  for  irrigating 
purposes,  as  they  will  scarcely  cover  the  amount  requisite  for  preliminary 
investigations,  without,  in  the  least,  considering  the  vastness  and  extent  of 
the  work  to  follow.  The  engineers  employed  in  the  work  were  required 
to  measure  the  various 
streams  and  sources  of 
water  supply,  select 
sites  for  reservoirs  and 
other  hydraulic  works 
necessary  for  storage 
and  utilization  of  water, 
make  maps  of  arable 
lands  surveyed,  and  fur- 
nish full  information 
for  the  use  of  Congress 
in  considering  further 
legislation  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

This  has  been  be- 
coming more  and  more 
a  prominent  question  in 


REDWOOD  PIPE,  SAN  BERNARDINO  COUNTY,  CALIFORNIA. 


the  history  of  all  the  Western  States  and  Territories,  and  by  being  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  general  public,  the  necessities  and  usefulness  of  irriga- 
tion may  in  time  be  extended  to  all  parts  of  the  country  where  needed. 
In  some  parts  the  system  would  prevent  the  desolating  effects  of  drought, 
and  in  others,  by  the  use  of  reservoirs  and  dams  for  storing  the  waters,  the 
disastrous  floods  that  almost  periodically  destroy  growing  crops  and  injure 
routes  of  travel  and  commerce  would  be  rendered  less  frequent  and 


552  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

destructive.  There  is  not  now  a  piece  of  land  sold  in  the  dry  regions 
where  the  judicious  purchaser  does  not  look  well  into  the  question  of  how 
many  inches  of  irrigating  water  goes  with  the  land,  that  being  the  most 
important  factor  to  be  considered.  The  water  right,  the  number  of  miner's 
inches  that  can  be  used,  and  the  cost  price  per  foot  per  acre,  are  all  matters 
that  are  duly  considered. 

The  following  resolution  was  presented  in  the  platform  of  one  of  the 
political  parties  in  a  Western  State  some  time  ago  as  an  important 
measure : 

"Resolved,  That  the  waters  of  the  State  belong  to  the  land  they  irrigate,  and  we  favor 
and  will  aid  in  maintaining  a  broad  and  comprehensive  system  of  irrigation  that  looks  to 
the  benefit  of  the  irrigator  as  primary  to  the  assumed  rights  of  the  riparian  and  appro- 
priator ;  a  system  controlled  by  the  government,  free  to  all,  under  the  control  of  no  class 
of  persons,  and  established  and  maintained  by  a  revenue  derived  from  those  whom  the 
system  will  benefit. 

"  We  believe  the  water  is  the  property  of  the  people,  and  that  it  should  be  so  used  as 
to  secure  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number  of  people." 

The  government  of  our  country  has  an  important  mission  to  perform, 
now  that  it  has  once  taken  charge  of  the  work,  and  it  is  presumed  that  it 
will  continue  until  a  time  when  the  entire  irrigation  system  will  be  under 
its  control,  with  one  simple  law  governing  it  alike  in  all  the  Western 
States  and  Territories.  As  to  whether  the  work  will  ever  be  taken  ener- 
getically in  charge  of  by  the  federal  government  remains  to  be  seen.  The 
enormous  amount  of  money  required  to  place  the  desert  lands  in  a  pro- 
ductive state  would  have  to  be  furnished  by  the  government,  as  it  would 
be  impossible  for  the  States  and  Territories  to  complete  so  vast  a  system 
as  must  be  undertaken;  and  the  funds  expended  should,  by  a  well-matured 
and  comprehensive  plan,  revert  again  to  the  treasury  of  the  general  govern- 
ment from  the  sale  of  its  lands  thus  improved. 

The  feeling  that  it  is  the  work  of  the  federal  government  is  almost 
universal.  In  some  States  resolutions  like  the  following  have  been  passed : 

First.  The  declaration  that  every  natural  stream  and  water  source  is  public  property. 

Second.  That  the  appropriation  for  beneficial  uses  of  any  such  stream  must  be  made 
under  legislative  enactment. 

Third.  That  all  water  so  appropriated  in  the  State  is  declared  to  be  a  public  use. 

Fourth.  Rates  and  rents  for  use  are  to  be  fixed  by  public  authority,  but  must  not  ex- 
ceed seven  per  cent,  on  capital  actually  expended  in  constructing  irrigating  works." 

The  legislature  of  Wyoming  has  adopted  the  water  legislation  of 
the  State  of  Colorado,  which  is  considered  the  best  in  use  by  any  of 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  553 

the  States  and  Territories.  The  subject  has  been  discussed  at  length  in 
the  various  reports  of  the  governors,  and  all  the  Western  States  have 
fostered  and  cared  for  irrigating  enterprises,  and  their  citizens  have  in- 
vested millions  of  dollars  in  the  same,  the  revenue  from  which  makes  it  a 
very  profitable  investment  and  which  benefit  the  people  and  the  country 
adjacent  to  the  plant. 

The  precipitation  of  water  in  the  mountainous  portions  of  the  arid  belt 
averages  not  more  than  twenty  inches  yearly,  although  in  parts,  in  some 
years,  as  much  as  seventy-five  inches  has  fallen  in  a  short  time, 
causing  floods  in  the  streams,  frequently  creating  destruction  in  the 
arable  low  land,  and  the  most  of  it  disappearing  in  the  sandy  wastes  where 
the  average  rainfall  is  scarcely  five  inches.  The  lesser  amount  falling  on 
low  desert  lands  and  the  greater  in  the  mountains,  the  plan  of  building 
dams  across  the  mountain  valleys  or  canons,  wherever  it  can  be  done  to 
advantage  and  at  small  cost,  should  in  all  cases  be  pursued  to  completion. 
Where  natural  catchment  basins  exist — and  there  are  any  number  of 
them  in  the  mountains, — the  government  should  reserve  them  for  future 
irrigation  purposes. 

Private  enterprises,  mindful  of  the  advantages  and  large  returns  for  the 
the  money  invested  and  the  indifference  shown  by  the  federal  govern- 
ment, have  taken  up  many  important  sites  for  reservoirs  which  drain 
areas  many  square  miles  in  extent,  and  control  the  water  for  vast  districts. 
On  the  general  surface  of  the  arid  region  it  is  estimated  that  about  fifteen 
inches  of  water  falls  annually,  much  of  which  can  be  utilized.  All  of  the 
arid  region  embraces  arable  lands  favorable  for  agriculture  in  all  its 
phases,  from  the  cultivation  of  the  products  of  the  north  temperate  zone 
to  those  of  the  tropics.  Where  irrigation  is  used  in  the  north,  the  season 
for  watering  is  generally  not  longer  than  three  months,  but  in  the  south  it 
embraces  at  least  eight  or  nine  months  of  the  year.  As  much  water  is  used 
at  a  time  as  would  result  from  a  day's  copious  rain.  A  practical  experience 
is  requisite,  as  too  much  water  is  liable  to  produce  more  injury  than 
benefit.  While  the  irrigated  farms  are  larger  generally  in  Colorado  and 
Utah,  in  southern  California  twenty  acres  is  as  much  as  one  family  can 
well  care  for  when  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of  vines,  fruits,  vegetables, 
or  alfalfa. 

The  eminent  English  writer  and  traveler,  Sir  Edwin  Arnold,  recently 
passing  across  the  continent,  made  this  observation : 

"  Nothing  has  struck  me  more  in  my  visit  to  America  than  the  slope  of  your  sierras. 
Your  orchards  and  vineyards  were  a  revelation  to  me.  You  will  be  the  wine  growers  of 


554 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


the  world.  Then  in  your  sagebrush  plateaus  you  only  need  irrigation  to  make  them 
fruitful.  The  land  I  saw  in  Nevada  is  almost  exactly  like  what  I  saw  in  India  and 
Arabia,  which  has  been  made  so  productive." 

The  streams  of  the  West  find  their  sources  near  the  summits  of  the 
mountain  peaks  that  are  covered  with  eternal  snow,  and  derive  their 
main  supply  from  the  rains  and  snows  that  fall  within  the  great  basin 
through  which  they  course  to  the  sea,  and  it  is  in  this  mountain  region 
that  the  lowlands  and  foot-hills  will  have  to  depend  for  the  water  to 
make  them  fruitful  under  cultivation.  The  canons  can  be  formed  into 
great  catch-basins  for  retaining  the  rains  in  their  season,  while  natural 
lakes  are  numerous  throughout  the  region. 

The  State  of  California  is  blessed  with  prosperity  derived  from  its 

irrigating  works,  and  is 
fast  being  populated 
with  a  prosperous  class 
of  agriculturalists  who 
have  been  brought 
thither  mainly  through 
the  success  of  irriga- 
tion, combined  with  the 


FLUME  BUILDING.    SPRINGING  IN  THE  BOTTOM  PLANK. 


unequaled  climate.  The 
changes  wrought  in 
places  in  California 
which  not  long  ago 
were  considered  value- 
less have  been  briefly 
mentioned.  Where 
once  it  was  thought 
nothing  but  sage  brush 
and  cactus  could  grow  the  land  has  been  cleared,  ditches  have  been 
made,  trees  have  been  planted,  crops  cultivated,  and  the  land  placed 
in  a  higher  state  of  cultivation  than  in  many  favored  localities  of 
the  Eastern  and  Southern  States.  In  ten  years  villages  and  cities  have 
sprung  up  where  before  coyotes  starved.  In  fact,  it  is  impossible  for  one 
to  conceive  how  much  a  country  supposed  to  be  utterly  worthless  can  be 
benefited  by  the  use  of  water,  unless  he  has  seen  such  effects.  To  pass 
from  the  hot,  arid  regions  into  the  fertile  valleys  of  California  is  as  glad- 
dening to  the  eyes  of  the  beholder  as  the  sight  of  an  oasis  is  to  the  traveler 
in  the  desert.  To  see  the  countless  acres  of  trees  with  their  ripening 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  555 

fruit,  the  unlimited  acres  of  grapes,  fields  of  wheat,  barley  and  alfalfa, 
and  everything  breathing  life  and  health,  is  to  see  the  blessed  use  of 
water,  husbanded  and  cared  for  and  appreciated  in  all  its  worth.  Land 
originally  valued  at  less  than  a  dollar  per  acre  has  increased  through  the 
benefit  of  a  sure  supply  of  water  until  one  acre  is  worth  as  much  as  one 
hundred  would  have  been  had  not  the  systems  of  irrigation  been  estab- 
lished. Without  irrigation,  except  in  certain  moist  lands,  these  beautiful 
valleys  and  lowlands  would  once  more  revert  to  desert  wastes. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  after  land  has  been  thoroughly  cultivated 
by  irrigation  less  water  is  required;  and  it  is  safe  to  assert  that  thousands 
of  acres  of  so-called  desert  land  may  become  adapted  for  agricultural  pur- 
poses without  the  quantity  of  water  at  first  necessary.  Immediately  fol- 
lowing the  establishment  of  an  irrigation  district,  after  the  canals,  with 
their  lateral  ditches  have  been  completed  and  the  cultivation  of  crops  has 
commenced,  the  planting  of  trees  should  be  encouraged.  The  eucalyptus 
variety  is  mostly  planted  in  California,  and  the  cottonwood  in  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico.  The  former  has  a  very  rapid  growth,  and  as  a  wind-break 
and  a  protection  to  crops  it  is  used  extensively.  This  tree  planting  would 
in  a  short  time  not  only  change  the  appearance  of  the  country  and  supply 
the  wood  which  is  necessary  for  fuel,  but  would  also  modify  the  climate. 
It  would  hardly  be  possible  to  estimate  the  value  of  trees  in  their  useful- 
ness toward  reclaiming  arid  lands,  and  too  much  cannot  be  said  in  urging 
the  profuse  planting  of  them.  In  fact,  it  would  be  well  for  the  government 
in  selling  land  reclaimed  through  any  irrigation  system  to  be  established, 
to  make  it  compulsory  on  the  purchaser  to  plant  a  portion  of  his  acreage 
in  forest  trees.  They  would  only  require  thorough  irrigation  during  the 
first  year,  less  of  it  the  second,  very  little  the  third,  and  possibly  none  at 
all  thereafter.  Tree  culture,  especially  the  planting  of  trees  indigenous  to 
the  country,  should  by  all  means  be  encouraged. 

As  we  review  the  past,  we  notice  the  action  of  the  unscrupulous  and 
the  insatiable  in  following  in  the  wake  or  hanging  upon  the  flanks,  and 
very  often  seen  in  a  position  far  in  advance,  of  any  humane,  progressive 
measure  which  may  be  adopted  for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  or  to  promote 
the  welfare  of  the  people.  It  is  wonderful  how  difficult  it  is  to  ward  off 
the  schemes  of  avaricious  men,  and  in  a  measure  of  this  kind,  which  has 
in  view  the  welfare  of  the  entire  people,  safeguards  cannot  be  too  strongly 
applied  to  protect  the  general  public.  It  is  a  fact  to  be  regretted  that 
many  of  our  most  commendable  measures,  whether  municipal,  State  or 
National,  which  have  given  us  avenues  of  commerce,  works  of  art,  and 


556 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


many  improvements  for  the  public  good,  whether  patriotic  or  beneficent, 
have  been  embarrassed  and  contaminated  by  the  touch  of  speculation,  and 
the  purpose  of  the  designer  has  often  been  marred  and  debased  by  the  in- 
fluence of  those  who  see  nothing  in  any  public  or  progressive  measure 
other  than  the  opportunity  to  gratify  their  selfish  desires. 

Moreover,  it  should  be  distinctly  understood  that  there  are  hundreds  of 
square  miles  of  our  public  domain  where  it  would  be  utter  folly  to  spend 
more  money  than  the  amount  necessary  to  definitely  ascertain  the  fact  of 
their  worthlessness.  Extravagance  in  expenditure  should  be  avoided,  and  the 

government  should  systematically 
improve  only  its  lands  which  will  re- 
pay the  expenditure,  and  divide  the 
same  in  such  manner  that  it  can  never 
be  monopolized  by  a  few,  but  shall 
be  cultivated  by  an  industrious,  en- 
terprising, and  intelligent  people,  who 
will  build  for  themselves  and  their 
posterity  homes  that  will  enrich  and 
beautify  the  region,  thus  sustaining 
and  promoting  the  general  welfare. 

It  may  be  added,  finally,  that  early 
action  by  the  general  government 
upon  the  irrigation  question  is  ear- 
nestly to  be  desired.  The  reserva- 
tions made  under  the  surveys  alluded 
to  have  not  been  utilized,  and  it  is 
being  urged  that  they  could  be  used 
with  great  advantage  to  the  country 
by  others,  syndicates  and  corporations, 
TUNNEL  PORTAL,  SAN  DIEGO  FLUME.  if  those  reservations  were  annulled. 
In  view  of  the  magnitude  of  the  work,  and  its  steadily  growing  necessity, 
it  seems  very  desirable  that  private  schemes  looking  to  the  acquirement  of 
the  actual  control  of  immense  tracts  of  valuable  land,  should  be  discouraged, 
or  even  rendered  impossible,  by  early  action  by  the  government  in  pursu- 
ance of  the  plan  under  which  these  surveys  and  reservations  were  origi- 
nally made. 

There  are  many  practical  difficulties  to  be  overcome,  and  the  highest 
engineering  skill  will  be  required.  Holland  was  won  from  the  sea  with  an 
immense  expenditure  of  time,  toil  and  money.  Our  task  is  the  opposite 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


557 


one,  but  attended  with  difficulties  almost  as  great.  The  work  to  be  done 
must  be  widely  distributed,  and  must  cover  an  immense  area,  and  when 
done  constant  vigilance  will  be  the  price  of  permanence.  The  dams  and 
catch-basins  will  fill  with  silt,  the  washings  of  the  mountain  sides.  The 
ditches  will  wash  and  break ;  the  first  cost  will  be  enormous ;  the  care  will 
be  costly  and  continuous.  But  the  question  is  one  that  must  nevertheless 
be  met.  We  have  grown  to  more  than  seventy  millions.  The  waste  and 
idleness  of  any  of  our  natural  resources  will  soon  come  to  be  regarded  as  a 
culpable  negligence,  if  not  a  crime.  The  richest  soil  and  the  most  favor- 
able climate  lie  within  the  arid  regions.  To  utilize  all  the  water  that  the 
sky  yields  is  unquestionably  within  the  genius  of  a  nation  that  thus  far 
has  been  daunted  by  no  obstacles  and  deterred  by  no  circumstances. 

A  long  residence  in  the  West  in  contact  with  its  people,  have  turned 
the  writer's  attention  to  such  features  of  the  irrigation  problem  as  are 
here  set  down,  and  as  such  they  fall  within  the  scope  of  the  present  volume. 
Aridness,  a  condition  of  nature,  is,  indeed,  the  only  bar  to  the  com- 
plete victory  of  that  vanguard  which  the  soldiers  led.  It  must  be  con- 
quered now  by  science,  and  under  the  law  of  the  greatest  good  to  the 
greatest  number. 


558 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 
TRANSPORTATION. 

THE   UNBRIDGED  SPACE  BETWEEN  THE  EAST  AND  THE  WEST  —  EARLY  RAILROADS —  EARLY  RAIL- 
ROADS OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  —  CHANGE  IN  RATES  OP  SPEED  —  PROPHECY  OF  SIMON  CAMERON 
—  VAST  AND  RAPID  INCREASE  IN*  MILEAGE  —  THE  SLEEPINGCAR  —  THE  OLD  PASSENGER 
CAR  —  THROUGH    TICKETS  AND  TRANSFERS — THE    ORIGIN  OF  THE   IDEA   OF   A 
TRANS-CONTINENTAL  LINE  —  THE   UNION  AND  CENTRAL  PACIFIC  LINES  — 
THE  NORTHERN   PACIFIC  —  THE  THIRTY-FIFTH  PARALLEL   ROUTE  — 
THE  SOUTHERN  PACIFIC  —  LAND  GRANTS  TO  THE  PACIFIC  LINES 
—  SUM  OF  LAND  GRANTS  TO  ALL  LINES  —  GROSS  INCOME 
OF    THE    RAILROADS    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

N  the  preceding  chapter  I  have  described  the  vast  country  which 
lies  between  the  region  which  now  by  universal  consent  is  the  East, 
and  that  which  in  recent  times  has  become  the  actual  West ;  the 
West  which  lies  beyond  the  supposed  possibilities  of  even  a  few 
years  ago,  and  which  is  now  bounded  not  by  an  idea  of  comparative 
locality,  but  by  the  Pacific. 

This  arid  region  had  not  within  it  the  inducements  to  rapid  set- 
tlement and  remarkable  growth  which  had  already  made  rich  and 
populous  all  the  splendid  commonwealths  which  were  once  called 
Western  States ;  which  had  dotted  them  with  cities  and  had  crossed  them 
in  all  directions  with  railroad  lines.  Yet,  beyond  it  lay  the  beautiful 
State,  which  I  shall  describe  in  the  last  chapter  of  this  volume,  and  in 
its  center  lay  gems  like  Colorado,  with  vast  resources  as  yet  only  surmised 
along  its  length  and  hidden  in  its  nooks  and  corners.  More  than  fifteen 
hundred  miles  of  mountain  and  plain  lay  almost  uninhabited  between  the 
most  eastern  settlements  of  the  western  coast  and  the  western  borders  of 
the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

With  a  brief  glance  at  the  history  of  the  small  beginnings  of  the  vast 
railroad  system  of  the  United  States,  I  shall  in  this  chapter  describe  how 
this  arid  and  then  unproductive  region  was  bridged,  how  the  farther  East 
was  united  with  the  utmost  West,  and  the  means  by  which  all  that  lies 
between  was  made  accessible  to  the  energy  of  the  American  people,  with 
the  vast  results,  some  of  whose  beginnings  have  been  sketched  in  these 
pages. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  559 

The  locomotive  with  its  long  attendant  train  of  cars  has  now  become 
such  a  familiar  feature  of  our  landscape  that  it  attracts  but  little  notice. 
Still  it  is  less  than  the  three  score  and  ten  years  that  are  the  allotted  span 
of  human  life  since,through  the  magic  power  of  steam,  was  evolved  so  potent 
a  factor  in  our  civilization.  A  journey  that  once  might  have  consumed 
weeks  can  now  be  performed  in  a  day;  and  a  journey,  which  in  winter, 
could  only  be  accomplished  at  the  cost  of  exposure  to  cold  and  storms  and 
the  suffering  entailed  thereby,  can  now  be  taken  with  as  much  comfort  as 
if  we  remained  in  our  own  homes.  Now  the  products  of  each  respective 
section  are  no  longer  enjoyed  merely  in  that  particular  portion  of  the 
country,  but  are  obtainable  everywhere;  and  in  our  new  West  are  popu- 
lous cities,  that  seem  to  have  sprung  up  almost  in  a  night,  which  never 
could  have  been  born,  much  less  attained  such  a  growth  if  they  had  not 
been  connected  with  the  older  portions  of  the  country  by  the  shining 
bands  of  steel  over  which  glides  the  swift  train. 

The  idea  of  a  graded  or  artificial  roadway  is  not  a  new  one  by  any 
means,  for  as  far  back  as  when  Rome  was  mistress  of  the  world,  her 
people,  who  were  always  famous  road  builders,  constructed  ways  of  cut 
stone.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  what  were  known  as  tram- 
roads  were  built  in  England  to  facilitate  the  conveyance  of  coal  from  the 
mines  to  the  place  of  shipment,  and  here  iron  was  used  instead  of  steel  for 
rails,  as  at  the  present  day. 

Railways  would  be  of  little  value  without  some  power  of  rapid  trans- 
portation, so  when  James  Watt  invented  the  steam  engine  in  1773,  earnest 
thinkers  began  to  conceive  the  idea  of  a  locomotive,  and  the  tropical 
imagination  of  Erasmus  Darwin  led  him  to  make  in  1781  his  famous 
prediction: 

"Soon  shall  thy  arm,  unconquered  steam!  afar 
Drag  the  slow  barge  or  drive  the  rapid  car." 

The  first  locomotive  that  was  successfully  used  was  the  "  Puffing  Billy" 
built  in  1813,  which  can  to-day  be  seen  in  the  museum  of  the  English  Pat- 
ent Office.  In  1821  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railroad  in  England  used 
a  steam  locomotive,  built  by  the  Stephensons,  but  it  was  only  used  to  haul 
freight  over  a  road  twelve  miles  long.  In  1825  a  locomotive  drew  the  first 
passenger  train  over  this  road,  making  the  distance  of  twelve  miles  in 
two  hours.  In  order  that  no  one  might  be  injured  by  their  indulgence  in 
this  swift  rate  of  speed  the  kind-hearted  manager  sent  a  horseman  ahead 
to  ride  down  the  track  in  front  of  the  engine  and  warn  people  to  get  out 
of  the  way. 

M.— <S 


560 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  GEN.  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


The  Carbondale  Railroad  in  Pennsylvania  was  the  first  road  in  this  coun- 
try on  which  a  locomotive  was  used.  This  engine  was  known  as  the 
"  Stourbridge  Lion,"  and  was  built  in  England  by  Horatio  Allen,  who  went 
there  for  that  express  purpose. 

The  locomotives  invented  by  the  Stephensons  could  not  go  around  sharp 
corners,  and  vast  sums  were  therefore  expended  to  make  the  line  as  straight 
as  possible  and  to  obtain  easy  grades.  When  the  Americans  first  began 
to  build  railways  in  1831,  the  English  designs  were  followed  for  a  time,  but 

,•,., — ^ s  our  engineers  soon  found  that 

their  money  would  not  be 
ample  if  such  a  course  was 
pursued,  and  so  were  either 
forced  to  stop 
building  or  find 
someway  to  over- 
come these  obsta- 
cles. The  result 
was  that  the  swiv- 
elling truck  was 
invented,  and  also  the 
equalizing  beams  or 
levers,  by  which  the 
weight  of  the  engine 
is  always  borne  by  three  out  of 
four  or  more  driving  wheels. 
These  two  improvements,  which 
are  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
building  of  roads  in  new  coun- 
tries, are  also  of  the  greatest  value  on  the  smoothest  and  straightest 
tracks.  Another  American  invention  is  the  switchback.  By  this  plan 
the  length  of  line  required  to  ease  the  gradient  is  obtained  by  running  a 
zigzag  course  instead  of  going  straight  up  a  mountain.  This  device 
was  first  used  in  Pennsylvania  to  lower  coal  cars  down  into  the  Neshoning. 
Then  it  was  employed  to  carry  the  temporary  tracks  of  the  Cascade 
Division  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  over  the  Stampede  Pass  with 
grades  of  297  feet  per  mile,  while  a  tunnel  was  being  driven  through 
the  mountain.  This  device  has  now  reached  such  perfection  that 
it  is  quite  a  common  occurrence  for  a  road  to  run  above  itself  in  spiral 
form. 


PLAINS  TRAVEL  BEFORE  THE  KAILROADS  CAME. 


THE  OLD  AND  THE  NEW  WAY. 


(561) 


562  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

The  first  cars  were  built  in  the  form  of  stagecoaches  with  outside  and 
inside  seats;  then  they  were  built  like  two  or  three  coaches  joined  together, 
and  finally  assumed  the  rectangular  form  now  commonly  in  use.  The  first 
time-table  in  this  country  was  published  in  Baltimore  about  1832,  and 
referred  to  the  "brigade  of  cars"  that  would  leave  the  depot  at  a  certain 
time. 

The  rate  of  speed  attainable  by  railroad  trains  is  wondeiiully  increased. 
In  1835  when  the  road  was  chartered  to  connect  Philadelphia  with  Harris- 
burg,  there  was  a  town  meeting  held  to  discuss  the  practicability  of  the 
scheme.  The  Hon.  Simon  Cameron,  who  advocated  the  measure,  was  so 
carried  away  by  his  enthusiasm  that  he  predicted  that  there  were  persons 
present  at  the  time  who  would  live  to  see  a  passenger  take  his  breakfast 
in  Harrisburg  and  his  supper  in  Philadelphia  on  the  same  day.  After  he 
had  finished  speaking,  a  friend  took  him  aside  and  said: 

"  That's  all  right  Simon,  to  tell  the  boys,  but  you  and  I  are  no  such 
infernal  fools  as  to  believe  it." 

They  both  lived  to  make  the  distance  in  but  little  more  than  two  hours. 
The  fastest  record  was  made  in  1893  on  the  New  York  Central  when  a 
mile  was  made  in  thirty-two  seconds  or  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and 
twelve  and  one-half  miles  an  hour. 

In  1830  there  were  but  twenty-three  miles  of  railroad  in  the  whole 
United  States.  In  1840  the  number  had  increased  to  2,818.  During 
the  next  twenty  years  the  increase  was  more  rapid,  making  a  showing  of 
30,635  miles  of  road  in  1860.  During  another  score  of  years  the  number 
was  increased  more  than  threefold,  giving  a  total  of  93,450  miles  in  1880. 
The  building  of  the  trans-continental  roads  advanced  the  rate  of  increase, 
and  in  1893  the  whole  number  of  miles  of  railroad  in  the  United  States 
was  173,433.  The  greatest  yearly  increase  was  in  1882,  showing  an  ad- 
vance of  11,596  miles  in  a  single  year.  The  length  of  the  world's  railways 
in  1894  was  410,000  miles,  or  more  than  sixteen  times  the  greatest  circum- 
ference of  the  earth. 

The  first  passenger  car  which  showed  a  radical  departure  from  the  old 
model,  was  built  by  Mr.  Pullman,  after  a  number  of  years  devoted  to  ex- 
perimenting, and  was  designated  by  the  letter  "  A,"  evidently  no  one  hav- 
ing the  idea  that  the  twenty-six  letters  of  the  alphabet  would  not  be 
sufficient  to  furnish  names  for  the  cars  that  would  afterward  be  built. 
The  Pullman  and  Wagner  companies  have  introduced  the  hotel-car,  and 
the  dining-car  has  started  on  its  travels.  Several  ingenious  inventions 
have  been  patented  for  heating  the  cars  with  steam  from  the  engines.  At 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  563 

the  present  time,  on  the  same  train  may  be  found  sleeping-cars,  dining- 
cars,  smoking-saloon.  bath-room,  barber  shop  and  library  with  books,  desks 
and  writing  materials.  There  is  free  circulation  of  air  throughout  the 
train  and  the  electric  lights  and  steam  heating  apparatus  all  serve  to  make 
traveling  comfortable. 

All  this  is  in  strong  contrast  to  the  methods  that  prevailed  during  the 
first  fifteen  or  twenty  years  after  traveling  by  steam  was  introduced.  At 
that  time  the  car  ceilings  were  low  and  without  ventilation;  there  were 
stoves  at  either  end  of  the  car  but  they  had  little  effect  on  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  middle  seats,  while  the  cars  were  filled  with  cinders  in  a  way 
that  seemed  marvelous  in  contrast  to  the  difficulty  of  introducing  fresh 
air.  Tallow  candles  were  used  for  illumination  purposes  and  were  chiefly 
noticeable  for  their  odor.  The  roughness  of  the  track  and  the  jarring  of 
the  train  made  conversation  impossible.  The  flat  rails  used  were  cut  at 
an  angle  and  with  lapped  edges  so  they  were  occasionally  caught  by  the. 
wheels  and  driven  up  through  the  floor,  impaling  the  unfortunate  passen- 
ger who  might  happen  to  be  sitting  directly  over  the  spot.  Through  tickets 
were  unknown,  and  at  the  end  of  each  short  line  the  passenger  had  to 
purchase  a  new  ticket,  change  cars,  and  personally  attend  to  the  transfer 
of  his  baggage. 

Railways  have  so  cheapened  the  cost  of  transportation  that  it  is  said 
that  while  a  load  of  wheat  loses  all  its  value  by  being  hauled  one  hundred 
miles  over  a  common  road,  meat  and  flour  enough  to  support  a  man  a 
year  can  be  hauled  fifteen  hundred  miles  over  a  railroad  for  one  day's 
wages  of  a  skilled  mechanic.  The  number  of  people  employed  in  con- 
structing, equipping  and  operating  our  railways  is  approximately  two 
millions. 

The  first  man  to  advocate  a  trans-continental  railway  is  believed  to 
have  been  Doctor  Barlow,  of  Massachusetts,  who  began  in  1834  when  the 
railroad  business  was  still  in  its  infancy  to  write  articles  for  the  news- 
papers advocating  the  undertaking  by  the  general  government  of  the  con- 
struction of  a  railroad  from  New  York  city  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia. 
But  Asa  Whitney  was  the  first  man  to  put  the  idea  into  practical  shape 
and  urge  it  upon  the  attention  of  Congress.  He  had  lived  for  a  number  of 
years  in  China,  and  being  familiar  with  the  conditions  of  the  Chinese  and 
the  East  Indian  trade,  and  carefully  calculating  the  distance  from  Liverpool 
to  the  point  where  that  trade  centered,  he  found  that  a  route  across  the 
United  States  by  rail,  and  by  sea  by  the  way  of  Puget  Sound,  would  be 
considerably  shorter  than  the  all  sea  route  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 


564  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

In  December,  1845,  he  appeared  in  Washington  with  a  scheme  for  a  rail- 
road from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  to  be  built  by  him  with  the 
proceeds  of  a  grant  of  land  for  thirty  miles  on  each  side  of  the  track.  At 
first  his  scheme  received  nothing  but  ridicule,  but  nothing  daunted  he 
returned  again  and  again  to  the  attack  until  in  1847  he  obtained  a  favor- 
able report  from  the  Senate  committee  on  public  lands.  He  spent  his 
entire  fortune  in  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  this  project,  but  achieved  no 
tangible  results.  Still  his  agitation  of  the  subject  did  much  good,  for  it 
brought  the  subject  prominently  before  the  people,  and  in  1853  Congress 
authorized  the  survey  of  various  possible  routes. 

There  was  much  rivalry  between  the  different  sections  of  the  country 
to  secure  the  route  most  favorable  to  their  especial  interests.  Under  the 
provisions  of  a  bill  passed  in  1862  the  Union  Pacific,  starting  at  Omaha, 
received  a  subsidy  in  government  bonds  of  $16,000  per  mile  for  the  portion 
of  its  line  traversing  the  great  plains;  $48,000  per  mile  for  the  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  $32,000  per  mile  for  the 
remainder  of  the  line.  The  aggregate  of  this  subsidy  for  the  1,033  miles 
of  road  was  $27,226,512.  The  Central  Pacific  received  at  the  same  time  a 
similar  subsidy  in  bonds,  the  total  amount  being  $27,855,680,  or  a  little 
more  than  that  of  the  Union  Pacific.  Each  company  obtained  at  the  same 
time  a  grant  of  public  lands  of  12,800  acres  per  mile  of  road.  This  route 
was  naturally  the  first  selected,  as  it  closely  followed  the  overland  trail  to 
California  made  by  the  gold  hunters  and  was  the  route  that  was  trav- 
ersed by  the  overland  mail  and  passenger  coaches,  and  the  thrifty  agri- 
cultural settlements  of  the  Mormons  in  the  valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake 
were  also  on  the  way. 

Stimulated  by  the  aid  bestowed  by  the  federal  government  the  Union 
Pacific  and  the  Central  Pacific,  which  together  formed  the  first  trans- 
continental line,  made  rapid  progress.  The  Central  Pacific  was  the  first 
to  begin  operations,  the  work  of  grading  being  commenced  at  Sacramento 
in  January,  1863,  though  but  few  people  had  faith  in  its  ability  to  complete 
such  an  undertaking.  A  notable  feature  in  the  construction  of  this  road 
was  the  employment  of  Chinese  labor.  At  first  there  were  many  dis- 
couragements to  be  encountered  in  the  work  of  construction,  but  after  a 
time  public  confidence  was  secured,  the  company  became  more  prosperous, 
and  its  monthly  earnings  increased. 

Work  was  not  begun  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  road  by  the  Union 
Pacific  Company  for  eighteen  months  after  it  was  inaugurated  at  the 
western  terminus,  but  fast  time  was  made  after  it  did  commence,  as  it  was 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


565 


able  to  carry  the  work  on  during  the  winter  while  the  Central  was  delayed 
by  the  deep  snows.  It  had,  besides,  the  advantage  that  there  was  a  level 
plain  over  which  to  lay  its  tracks  for  five  hundred  miles.  The  Northwest 
Bailroad  between  Chicago  and  Missouri  was  completed  by  this  time  so  the 
Union  Pacific  was  enabled  to  transport  all  its  supplies  by  rail  while  the 
Central  Pacific  had  to  wait  until  its  materials  were  brought  around  by  the 
way  of  Cape  Horn.  By  the  summer  of  1867  the  Central  Pacific  had  reached 
the  summit  of  the  Sierras,  fifteen  tunnels  were  far  advanced  toward  com- 
pletion, and  ten  thousand  men  and  thirteen  hundred  teams  were  working 
on  the  grade  down  the  eastern  slope.  The  Union  Pacific  had  a  still  larger 
force  at  work  and  was  now  well  on  to  the  foot-hills  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. 

As  the  work  began  to  near  completion,  it  was  pushed  forward  by  both 
companies  to  the  utmost 
limit  of  their  ability. 
Twenty-five  thousand  work- 
men and  six  thousand  teams 
were  ceaselessly  at  work  on 
the  road,  and  six  hundred 
tons  of  material  were  daily 
forwarded  from  either  end 
of  the  track.  At  one  time 
there  were  thirty  vessels  en 
route  around  Cape  Horn  with 
rolling  stock  for  the  Central 
Pacific,  besides  what  was 
transported  across  the  isth- 
mus. The  Union  Pacific  showed  equal  energy,  and  the  fact  is  recorded 
that  "more  ground  was  ironed  in  a  day  than  was  traversed  by  the  ox 
teams  of  the  pioneers  of  '49." 

The  work  progressed  so  rapidly  that  by  the  10th  of  June,  1869,  the  last 
spike  in  the  last  rail  was  to  be  driven.  Governor  Stanford  and  Vice-Pres- 
ident Durant,  the  two  great  leaders,  shook  hands  over  the  last  rail  as  it 
was  laid  in  place.  Arrangements  were  made  with  the  superintendents  of 
telegraph  lines  to  connect  with  all  the  fire  alarm  bells  in  the  various  cities 
all  over  the  country,  that  they  might  be  struck  as  the  last  spike  was 
driven.  Two  gold  spikes  were  sent  from  California  and  two  silver  ones 
from  Nevada  and  Arizona  respectively.  At  the  final  ceremonies  the  two 
silver  spikes  were  driven  first,  after  which  Vice-President  Durant  drove 


AT  THE  lOOra  MERIDIAN. 


566  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

one  of  the  golden  spikes,  and  then  Leland  Stanford  stood  with  uplifted 
arm  waiting  the  moment  that  should  give  the  signal  that  the  work  was 
accomplished;  the  blow  fell,  the  last  spike  was  driven,  and  the  East 
was  united  in  closer  ties  with  the  West  than  had  ever  before  been 
possible. 

The  advocates  of  the  Northern  route  did  not  venture  to  compete  with 
the  schemes  described,  but  they  did  get  a  charter  and  land  grant,  although 
they  did  not  ask  for  money  or  credit,  and  their  bill  was  passed  through 
Congress  at  the  same  time  with  the  Union  and  Central  bill  and  was  signed 
by  President  Lincoln  July  2,  1864.  The  land  grant,  instead  of  being 
twenty  sections  to  a  mile  of  track,  was  twenty  in  Minnesota  and  Oregon 
and  forty  for  the  remainder  of  the  way,  but  there  was  no  provision  for  a 
subsidy  in  government  bonds.  The  passage  of  this  act  was  largely  due  to 
the  efforts  of  Mr.  Perham,  who  had  previously  advocated  a  road  from  the 
Missouri  River  to  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco.  He  gained  the  favor  and 
friendship  of  Thaddeus  Stevens,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  did  much  to  aid  the 
passage  of  the  bill. 

Thus  the  great  enterprise  was  launched  but  made  very  little  progress 
for  the  next  few  years.  The  franchise  was  transferred,  a  new  board  of 
directors  was  elected,  and  Congress  was  applied  to  for  aid.  The  time  for 
commencement  should  have  been  in  July,  1866,  but  the  new  company 
obtained  an  extension  of  time,  and  not  succeeding  in  getting  financial  aid 
from  Congress  determined  to  wait  no  longer,  but  obtained  the  passage  of 
an  act  authorizing  the  company  to  issue  its  bonds  and  secure  them  by  a 
mortgage  upon  its  railroad  and  telegraph  line.  The  services  of  the  great 
banking  house  of  Jay  Cooke  and  Company  were  secured  for  the  sale  of  the 
bonds,  which  under  their  management  soon  became  a  favorite  form  of 
investment  for  the  small  savings  of  mechanics,  farmers  and  tradesmen,  as 
well  as  for  the  larger  accumulations  of  capitalists. 

The  construction  of  the  Northern  Pacific  began  in  the  summer  of  1870r 
but  the  first  ground  was  broken  during  the  winter  about  a  mile  west  of  the 
present  town  of  Northern  Pacific  Junction,  where  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth 
Railroad  joins  the  Northern  Pacific.  The  night  before  this  occurred  a  large 
number  of  people  drove  out  from  the  neighboring  cities  and  slept  on  the 
floor  of  a  log  house  so  as  to  be  on  hand  early  the  next  morning.  A  fire  of 
logs  had  been  built  the  day  before  to  melt  the  snow  and  thaw  out  the 
frozen  earth  in  order  that  it  might  be  penetrated  by  a  spade.  Citizens  from 
Minnesota  and  Wisconsin  were  appointed  to  fill  the  first  wheelbarrow  with 
earth ;  they  did  so,  wheeled  the  load  a  few  steps,  dumped  it,  and  the 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  567 

assemblage  then  dispersed  with  cheer  upon    cheer  for   the    Northern 
Pacific. 

During  the  summer  of  1870  and  the  whole  of  the  year  of  1871,  money 
poured  into  the  treasury  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Company,  but  it  was 
severely  crippled  in  the  financial  panic  of  1873.  The  newspapers  com- 
menced to  ridicule  it,  and  called  it  a  scheme  to  build  a  railroad  from 
"nowhere  through  no  man's  land  to  no  place."  However,  the  company 
was  reorganized,  and  was  soon  placed  on  a  firm  footing  under  Mr.  Billings 
of  Vermont. 

Henry  Villard,  a  German  by  birth,  although  he  came  to  the  United 
States  when  very  young,  became  interested  in  some  of  the  Western  rail- 
roads, and  during  the  six  years  following  the  panic  of  1873,  gradually 
obtained  control  of  the  transportation  lines  in  the  State  of  Oregon.  He 
then  conceived  the  scheme  of  uniting  his  own  lines  with  the  Northern 
Pacific,  and  in  1881,  with  this  end  in  view,  he  organized  the  "blind  pool" 
in  New  York  and  in  a  short  time,  with  no  other  security  than  that  of  his 
own  personal  obligation,  obtained  $8,000,000.  With  this  and  other  means 
he  secured  a  controlling  interest  in  the  stock  of  the  Northern  Pacific,  and 
was  elected  president  of  that  company  in  September  of  the  same  year. 

The  construction  of  this  road  was  a  series  of  remarkable  engineering 
feats.  Two  of  the  great  tunnels,  one  at  Bozeman's  Pass  in  the  Belt  range 
and  the  other  at  Mullan's  Pass  in  the  main  division  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, were  respectively  3,600  and  3,850  feet  in  length.  The  highest  sum- 
mit passed  was  5,565  feet  above  the  sea  level.  The  western  terminals  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  are  at  Portland,  Oregon  and  at  Puget  Sound. 

Another  route  is  known  as  the  "  Thirty-fifth  Parallel  Route, "  and  is  com- 
posed of  the  Atlantic  &  Pacific,  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe,  and  the 
St.  Louis  &  San  Francisco  Railroads.  This  road  connects  with  the  South- 
ern Pacific  in  the  southern  part  of  California. 

The  want  of  a  railroad  across  the  southern  portion  of  our  continent 
was  early  felt  by  the  people  of  that  section  and  efforts  were  early  made  in 
that  direction.  A  great  convention  was  held  at  Savannah,  Georgia,  in 
December,  1856,  at  which  resolutions  were  adopted  to  the  effect  that  a 
railroad  ought  to  be  built  from  the  Mississippi  River  along  or  near  the 
thirty-second  parallel  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  even  before  this  the  State 
of  Texas  had  granted  a  liberal  charter  through  its  domain,  as  well  as  aid 
by  grants  of  land  and  a  loan  of  $6,000  for  each  mile  of  road  built.  Under 
this  charter  forty  miles  of  road  were  completed  before  the  breaking  out  of 
the  Civil  War,  which  for  the  time  effectually  stopped  the  undertaking. 


568  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

Nothing  further  was  done  toward  the  building  of  this  line  until  the 
act  of  March  3,  1871,  providing  for  the  incorporation  of  a  company  to  be 
known  as  the  Texas  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  which  was  empowered  to 
lay  out  and  construct  a  continuous  line  of  railroad  over  the  thirty-second 
parallel  of  latitude  from  Marshall,  Texas,  to  El  Paso,  thence  through  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona  to  the  State  of  California,  and  to  San  Diego,  Califor- 
nia. Various  changes  and  consolidations  have  since  been  made  in  this 
line,  and  at  present  the  "Thirty-second  Parallel  Route"  is  composed  of  the 
Texas  &  Pacific,  extending  from  New  Orleans  to  El  Paso,  a  distance  of 
1,162  miles,  and  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  which  extends  from  El  Paso  to  San 
Francisco,  California,  under  the  general  direction  of  Mr.  C.  P.  Huntington. 
The  Southern  Pacific,  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe,  Union  Pacific  &  Central 
Pacific,  Northern  Pacific,  Great  Northern,  with  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande 
and  Oregon  Short  Line,  constitute  practically  six  great  trunk  lines  across 
the  great  Western  half  of  our  country.  These  with  their  branch  lines 
form  a  great  network  of  communication  devoted  to  the  commercial  de- 
velopment of  that  vast  empire. 

To  the  companies  building  these  great  Pacific  Railroads,  Congress  has 
granted  19,015,977.69  acres,  a  greater  number  than  are  contained  in  the 
State  of  West  Virginia.  The  whole  number  of  acres  granted  to  railroads 
in  the  United  States  is  57,025,532.50,  or  more  land  than  is  contained  in  the 
entire  State  of  Minnesota.  The  sections  where  these  grants  were  made 
naturally  include  only  the  Western  and  Southern  States.  The  value  of  the 
land  reserved  was  greatly  enhanced  by  the  building  of  the  railroads. 

Professor  Henry  C.  Adams,  in  an  article  published  in  the  "Review  of 
Reviews"  for  August,  1894,  says  that  the  annual  gross  income  to  railways 
in  the  United  States  exceeds  $1,200,000,000,  being  a  sum  greater  by 
$285,000,000  than  the  aggregate  income  to  the  Federal,  State,  municipal  and 
local  governments.  The  business  which  gives  rise  to  this  income  is  repre- 
sented by  eighteen  hundred  corporations. 


SIMON  SNYDER,  Major  5th  Infantry. 
Capture  of  Chief  Joseph  and  Nez  Perces,  1877. 

LIEUT.  ALLEN,  Alaska. 
Exploration  of  Alaska,  1883-84. 


G.  W.  BAIRD,  Adjutant  5th   Infantry. 
Campaign  of  Texas  and  Indian  Territory,  1874. 

CAPTAIN  LAWTON. 
Geronimo's  Campaign  in  Arizona,  1886. 


(5*9) 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  571 

CHAPTER  XL1Y. 
CALIFORNIA. 

SIZE  OF  CALIFORNIA — THE  NAME  "CALIFORNIA"  —  DISCOVERY — THE  SPANIARDS — DRAKE — THE 

COMING  OF  THE   FRANCISCANS  —  THE   MISSIONS  —  WEALTH  OF  THE   SAME  —  THE  INDIANS  AND 

THEIR  CONDITION  —  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  OLD  TIME  —  FIRST  IMMIGRANTS  FROM  THE  STATES  — 

COMMODORE  SLOAT  AND  GENERAL  FREMONT  —  FIRST  HOISTING  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FLAG 

—  DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD  —  SUTTER  AND  MARSHALL — RAPID  INCREASE  OF  POPULATION 

—  THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  PIONEERS  —  ADMITTANCE  AS  A  STATE  —  GEOGRAPHY 

OF  CALIFORNIA  —  THE  Two  NATURAL  DIVISIONS  OF  THE  STATE  —  CALIFORNIA 

WONDERS  — YOSEMITE,  LITTLE  YOSEMITE,  KING'S  RIVER  CANON,  ETC.  — 

THE    SEASONS  —  VAST    PRODUCT  OF  THE    STATE   IN   FRUITS   AXD 

CEREALS  —  MANUFACTURES  —  EDUCATIONAL   INSTITUTIONS  — 

Los  ANGELES  —  SANTA  BARBARA  —  SAN  FRANCISCO  — 

THE  VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE  —  THE  HARBOR. 

ALIFORNIA,  with  her  hundred  million  of  acres,  is  larger  in  area 
than  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  Hampshire, 
Vermont,  New  Jersey,  Delaware  and  Maryland,  and  the  great 
States  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  all  combined.  If  it  had 
been  as  thickly  settled  as  these  Atlantic  States  were  in  1890,  the 
census  of  that  year  would  have  given  it  twenty  millions  of  inhab- 
itants instead  of  one  million  two  hundred  thousand,  while  if  it 
ever  becomes  as  densely  populated  as  the  small  but  important  manufac- 
turing State  of  Massachusetts  it  will  contain  approximately  forty-three 
millions  of  people,  or  more  than  thirty-five  times  its  present  population. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  busy  little  State  of  Rhode  Island  contained  no 
more  people  to  the  square  mile  than  California  does,  it  would  contribute 
less  than  ten  thousand  to  the  population  of  the  Union.  In  size  California 
is  second  only  to  Texas,  and  from  north  to  south  extends  through  ten 
degrees,  or  as  far  as  from  the  latitude  of  New  York  to  that  of  Florida. 
It  is  equal  in  territory  to  both  Japan  and  Italy,  each  with  their  forty 
millions  of  people. 

The  name  California  is  first  mentioned  in  a  romance  published  not 
many  years  after  the  discovery  of  America,  that  name  having  been  given 
to  an  imaginary  island  situated  near  the  equator.  It  was  afterward  applied 
in  fact  to  the  peninsula  of  Lower  California,  and  eventually  to  an  indefinite 
portion  of  country  extending  as  far  north  as  to  the  forty-second  parallel. 
In  the  first  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  coast  was  visited  by  various 


572  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

Spanish  navigators,  and  in  1579  Francis  Drake  sailed  along  the  western 
shore  of  the  continent  to  the  latitude  of  forty-eight  degrees,  naming  the 
country  that  is  now  California,  "New  Albion." 

In  1679  the  Franciscan  monks  founded  a  mission  at  San  Diego,  and  sec- 
ular immigration  soon  followed.  Their  first  effort  having  thus  proved  suc- 
cessful, the  priests  continued  to  plant  their  missions  along  the  coast  up  to 
the  year  1823,  by  which  time  the  revenues  of  the  church  from  this  source 
had  become  enormous.  The  Indians  connected  with  these  missions  were 
taught  agriculture  and  various  trades,  and  in  some  cases  even  received  a 
little  education,  but  nevertheless  they  were  held  in  a  bondage  that  was 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  species  of  slavery.  In  1777  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernment began  to  establish  pueblos  or  towns,  a  measure  which  was  greatly 
opposed  by  the  priests  as  being  detrimental  to  their  interests.  The  Mexican 
revolution  of  1822  hastened  the  ecclesiastical  downfall  that  was  already 
begun.  Four  years  later  the  Indians  were  released  from  their  allegiance  to 
the  priests,  and  in  1834  the  mission  lands  were  divided,  thus  effectually 
terminating  the  church  rule  which  had  so  long  dominated  in  California. 

The  day  of  the  old  Spanish  regime  was  a  time  of  unbounded  hospitality. 
It  was  even  considered  an  offence  for  a  stranger  to  pass  by  a  ranch  with- 
out paying  a  visit  to  its  inmates.  The  hosts  not  only  expected  as  a 
matter  of  course  to  supply  fresh  horses,  but  if  their  guest's  financial  status 
appeared  to  be  somewhat  low,  a  little  pile  of  uncounted  silver  was  left  in 
his  sleeping  apartment,  the  idea  being  conveyed  to  him  as  delicately  as 
possible  that  he  was  to  take  all  he  needed.  The  money  was  invariably 
covered  with  a  cloth,  and  it  was  a  point  of  honor  never  to  count  it,  either 
before  or  after  the  guest  went  away.  This  money  was  known  as  "guest 
silver,"  and  the  quaint  custom  continued  until  a  time  came  when  it  was 
so  abused  that  the  generous  Californians  were  obliged  to  abandon  it. 

The  first  emigrants  from  the  United  States  entered  California  in  1826; 
and  though  followed  at  intervals  by  others,  there  was  still  a  compara- 
tively small  number  of  Americans  in  the  country,  when  twenty  years  later, 
the  United  States,  anticipating  war  with  Mexico,  and  believing  also  that 
England  had  designs  upon  that  part  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  took  steps  to 
secure  an  alliance  with  California  by  promising  assistance  to  the  people  in 
attaining  independence  in  case  of  war,  at  the  same  time  instructing  the 
United  States  consul  at  Monterey,  the  then  capital  of  California,  to  exert 
every  possible  influence  in  behalf  of  his  country.  Commodore  Sloat,  then 
in  the  Pacific,  was  ordered  to  occupy  the  ports  of  Monterey  and  San  Fran- 
cisco in  case  of  an  outbreak  of  hostilities.  General  Fremont  who  was  at 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  573 

that  time  in  the  country  in  command  of  a  small  force,  was  ordered  to 
cooperate  with  Sloat.  But  misled  by  reports  of  threatened  violence  to 
American  settlers,  he  prematurely  encouraged  his  countrymen  to  rise 
against  the  Mexican  Government,  and  seizing  Sonoma,  June  14,  1846,  he 
proclaimed  a  republic.  On  July  7,  Commodore  Sloat  seized  Monterey,  and 
war  with  Mexico  having  been  declared,  the  United  States  flag  was  raised 
at  San  Francisco,  and  the  military  department  of  California  was  then  estab- 
lished under  the  command  of  General  Philip  Kearney. 

With  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  in  1848,  a  new  and  wonderful 
era  in  its  history  begins.  It  seems  somewhat  singular  that  as  far  back  as 
the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  conquerors  of  Mexico  were 
firmly  convinced  that  the  western  coast  of  what  is  now  the  United  States 
must  be  rich  in  gold,  and  sent  out  many  expeditions  to  prove  their  theory, 
and  that  nevertheless  the  precious  yellow  metal  remained  hidden  from  the 
eye  of  man  for  three  hundred  years  longer.  For  many  years  previous  to  the 
day  that  James  Marshall  picked  the  shining  particles  from  the  millrace  at 
Coloma,  the  idea  of  gold  being  found  anywhere  in  that  country  had  been 
so  entirely  abandoned,  that  we  read  in  the  "Penny  Encyclopedia"  of  1836, 
"In  minerals,  upper  California  is  not  rich."  This  idea,  though  erroneous, 
was  a  very  fortunate  one  for  the  United  States,  for  had  the  hidden  wealth 
of  California  been  announced  to  the  world  a  few  years  sooner  we  could 
never  have  secured  from  Mexico  all  the  territory  of  which  California  is 
only  a  small  part  for  the  paltry  sum  of  fifteen  million  dollars,  and  possi- 
bly we  might  not  have  been  able  to  obtain  it  at  all. 

It  seems  strange  that  an  event  so  important  to  California,  to  the  United 
States,  and  to  the  whole  world,  should  have  been  the  result  of  a  mere 
accident.  In  1847  among  the  most  prominent  Americans  in  California  was 
General  John  A.  Sutter,  who  had  acquired  many  acres  of  land  there,  and 
had  taken  up  his  abode  at  "Sutter's  Fort"  at  the  junction  of  the 
American  and  Sacramento  Rivers.  In  the  summer  of  this  year,  he  began 
to  perceive  the  necessity  for  a  sawmill,  and  as  there  was  no  timber  in  the 
valley  he  was  obliged  to  have  this  mill  erected  in  the  mountains.  To 
build  it  he  engaged  James  W.  Marshall,  who  was  to  supply  the  skill  and 
choose  the  site,  while  Sutter  furnished  the  money,  workmen  and  teams. 
Mr.  Marshall  selected  a  site  at  the  spot  afterward  known  as  Coloma.  and 
for  four  months  he  and  his  workmen  remained  in  the  midst  of  a  prime- 
val wilderness  engaged  in  the  construction  of  the  mill.  At  the  end  of 
that  time  the  structure  was  nearly  completed,  the  dam  had  been  made, 
the  race  had  been  dug,  the  gates  had  been  put  in  place,  the  water  had 


574  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

been  turned  into  the  race  to  carry  away  the  loose  dirt  and  gravel,  and  then 
turned  off  again,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  January,  1848,  Mar- 
shall, while  taking  his  usual  walk  along  the  race  after  shutting  off  the 
water,  was  attracted  by  a  small  shining  object  about  half  the  size  of  a 
pea.  He  hastily  picked  it  up,  and  the  results  of  his  find  are  known  to  all 
the  world. 

Marshall  himself  received  very  little  benefit  from  his  discovery.  Had 
notoriety  been  enough  to  satisfy  him  he  might  have  been  well  content,  for 
his  name  became  widely  celebrated,  but,  as  he  once  naively  remarked,  that 
was  "neither  victuals  nor  clothes  to  any  one."  Owing  to  this  neglect  he 
gradually  became  embittered  against  all  mankind,  and  after  spending  the 
last  years  of  his  life  in  poverty  and  privation,  he  died  in  1885,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-three,  and  was  buried  at  a  spot  within  sight  of  the  place  where 
he  made  his  famous  discovery.  His  figure  in  colossal  bronze  has  since 
been  erected  over  his  grave,  and  stands  like  a  sentinel  guarding  the  spot 
where  tke  great  event  of  his  life  occurred.  It  was  an  event  which  affected 
many  lives  for  weal  or  woe,  which  turned  the  tide  of  emigration  from  all 
parts  of  the  world  to  California,  which  caused  the  development  of  the 
neighboring  States,  and  which  finally  made  necessary  the  building  of  the 
great  trans-continental  railroads. 

The  impetus  thus  given  to  emigration,  which  was  felt  all  over  the  globe, 
increased  the  scanty  population  of  California  to  such  an  extent  that  by  the 
end  of  1849  there  were  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  people  within  her 
borders.  Naturally  this  was  not  a  healthy  growth,  for  there  was  much 
reckless  speculation  and  extravagant  living,  which  had  its  demoralizing 
influence  upon  the  inhabitants.  Life  in  California  at  that  time  was  a  kind 
of  pandemonium.  Thousands  of  men  were  constantly  leaving  and  arriv- 
ing ;  money  was  plentiful  and  freely  spent ;  miners  who  had  made  their 
fortunes  in  a  few  days  squandered  them  in  a  single  night  at  the  gaming 
table.  There  were  but  few  women  in  the  entire  territory,  and  all  good 
influences  were  chiefly  conspicuous  by  their  absence.  The  whole  popula- 
tion of  the  towns  and  mining  camps  consisted  of  unkempt  men  clad  in 
flannel  shirts,  patched  clothing  and  heavy  boots,  and  the  hearts  of  all  were 
animated  by  one  great  impulse — the  thirst  for  gold.  There  was,  however, 
a  strong  touch  of  sentiment  in  their  rough  lives ;  as  for  instance,  when  an 
intense  excitement  was  one  day  created  in  a  small  town  by  a  rumor  that 
an  invoice  of  women's  bonnets  had  arrived  —  there  was  a  rush  from 
every  direction  to  get  a  view  of  them.  The  sight  of  anything  so  in- 
tensely feminine  as  a  bonnet  touched  the  hearts  of  those  rough  men,  and 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  575. 

awakened  in  their  breasts  thoughts  and  feelings  that  had  long  lain 
dormant. 

Although  San  Francisco  was  made  a  port  of  entry,  no  Territorial  govern- 
ment was  ever  formed  in  California.  As  early  as  1849  the  people  had  suc- 
ceeded in  framing  a  constitution  much  resembling  that  of  New  York ;  and 
in  September  of  the  following  year,  California  was  admitted  into  the 
Union,  being  the  thirty-first  member  of  the  great  sisterhood  of  States. 
Two  years  of  amazing  prosperity  followed,  then  speculation  in  all  kinds  of 
property  ran  riot,  finally  bringing  about  the  financial  crisis  of  1855. 

When  the  great  Civil  War  came  it  was  feared  that  California  was  con- 
templating secession,  and  she  was  therefore  exempted  from  furnishing 
troops.  But  the  Union  party  was  stronger  than  had  been  imagined,  and 
came  to  the  front  most  nobly,  not  only  contributing  a  million  and  a  half  to 
the  national  cause,  but  voluntarily  sending  a  considerable  number  of 
volunteers  into  the  field. 

Since  that  time  the  State  has  been  constantly  developing  new  resources, 
and  has  rapidly  gained  in  importance.  It  was  the  opinion  of  so  impartial 
an  observer  as  Charles  Kingsley,  when  he  visited  that  part  of  the  country  as 
far  back  as  1874,  that  Calif  ornia  was  destined  to  eventually  become  the  finest 
country  on  the  globe,  and  were  he  living  now  he  would  have  no  occasion  to 
change  his  views.  Between  the  northern  and  southern  portions  of  the 
State  lies  a  great  transverse  range  of  mountains,  the  lowest  passes  of  which 
are  from  four  to  five  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  This  range, 
with  the  division  it  makes  in  the  lines  of  trade  and  travel,  seems  gradually 
forcing  the  two  sections  apart.  The  geographic,  topographic,  and  climatic 
differences  between  the  two  parts  are  so  radical  that  the  indications  are 
that  sooner  or  later  they  must  inevitably  lead  to  a  political  division. 

In  California  there  are  two  great  mountain  ranges,  the  Coast  Range  and 
the  Sierra  Nevada;  and  in  the  latter  it  is  estimated  that  there  are  at  least 
one  hundred  peaks  over  ten  thousand  feet  in  height. 

"  Afar  the  bright  Sierras  lie 

A  swaying  line  of  snowy  white, 
A  fringe  of  heaven  hung  in  sight 
Against  the  blue  base  of  the  skv." 

Among  the  most  noted  of  these  peaks  are  Shasta,  Tyndall  and  Whitney, 
but  there  are  others  that  almost  equal  them  in  height  and  grandeur.  The 
largest  and  only  navigable  rivers,  with  the  exception  of  the  Colorado,  are 
the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin. 


576 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


An  enumeration  of  the  greatest  wonders  of  the  world  would  not  be 
complete  without  mention  of  the  marvelous  Yosemite  Valley.  It  lies  in 
the  Sierra  foot-hills  in  the  trough-like  erosion,  a  mile  in  breadth  and  six 

in  length,  with  a  flat  bottom  of 
irregular  width.  The  visitor 
stands  before  the  wonder  of  this 
place  almost  pros- 
trated by  the  glory 
and  majesty  of  his 
surroundings.  Enter- 
ing at  the  lower  end, 
a  general  view  of  the 
valley  is  obtained. 
On  the  left  rises  the 
celebrated  El  Capitan, 
thirty-three  hundred 
feet  in  height,  while 
on  the  right  falls  the 
MOUNT  SHASTA.  Bridal  Veil,  a  cascade 

of  gossamer  a  thousand  feet  from  top  to  bottom.  The  floor  of  the  valley 
is  carpeted  with  the  most  beautiful  flowers  and  blossoming  shrubs,  and  is 
fringed  with  groves  of  oak,  cedar  and  fir,  while  the  Merced  River  winds 
and  dashes  its  way  along  through  this  wonderful  beauty,  helping  to  form 
a  scene  of  incomparable  loveliness, 

"  While  we  walk  subdued  in  wonder 
In  the  ferns  and  grasses  under 
And  beside  the  swift  Merced." 

Farther  up  the  valley  is  the  obelisk-like  Sentinel  Rock,  towering  three 
thousand  feet  into  the  air,  and  just  across  from  this,  fed  exclusively  by 
melted  snows,  are  the  great  Yosemite  Falls,  the  most  remarkable  in  the 
world  when  both  height  and  volume  are  considered,  they  being  fifteen 
times  as  high  as  Niagara  and  of  indescribable  grandeur.  From  the  verge 
of  a  perpendicular  wall  the  water  springs  and,  swayed  hither  and  thither 
by  the  wind  as  it  falls,  strikes  an  inclined  shelf  of  rock  from  which  it 
tumbles  in  a  series  of  beautiful  cascades  six  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet 
more  before  it  takes  its  final  plunge  of  four  hundred  feet  to  complete  its 
half  mile  leap,  while  every  moment  its  deep  continuous  roar  is  heard 
reverberating  through  the  canon.  Two  miles  above  the  Yosemite  Falls  the 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


577 


valley  separates  into  three  canons.  Choosing  the  one  through  which  flows 
the  Merced,  you  pass  along  beside  two  miles  of  cascades  in  which  distance 
this  dashing,  foaming  river  descends  over  two  thousand  feet.  Then  follow 
more  magnificent  waterfalls,  surrounded  by  scenery  sublime  and  impres- 
sive beyond  description. 

Marvelous  as  is  the  Yosemite,  it  is  only  one  of  the  numerous  won- 
ders of  California.  The  Little 
Yosemite  Valley  is  almost  a  coun- 
terpart of  the  greater  on  a  smaller 
scale.  The  widely  celebrated  mam- 
moth trees  of  California  have  not 
their  like  upon  the  planet.  From 
a  careful,  minute  and  scientific  ex- 
amination by  General  Sherman 
with  several  eminent  scientists,  it 
was  found  that  these  giants  of  the 
forest  were  standing  when  Moses 
was  an  infant  in  the  bulrushes, 
and  for  more  than  four  thousand 
years  they  have  defied  the  ele- 
ments. Both  the  Columbia  and 
Fraser  Rivers  have  their  fifty  miles 
and  more  of  stupendous  gorges 
several  thousand  feet  in  depth,  but 
grander  yet  is  the  King's  River 
Canon,  with  its  hard  granite  walls 
from  three  thousand  to  seven  thou- 
sand feet  in  depth. 

Although  there  are  two  seasons 
in  California,  the  wet  and  the  dry. 
the  former  is  so  called  rather  be- 
cause it  is  the  only  time  when  there 
is  any  rain  than  because  it  falls 
continually,  for  there  are  a  great 

many    delightfully    pleasant     days  GLACIER  POINT.     YOBBMITE  VALLEY. 

during  that  period  of  the  year.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  speak  of 
the  climate  of  the  whole  State  at  once,  since  there  is  a  decided 
difference  between  the  northern  and  southern  portions.  To  the  north  of 
Point  Conception  the  winds  are  such  as  to  give  the  upper  part  of  the  State 

M.— 34 


578 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


the  exceedingly  dry  atmosphere  for  which  it  is  noted.  The  climate  of  the 
southern  portion  is  most  delightful,  and  is  widely  celebrated  for  its  health- 
giving  qualities.  Here  the  first  rain  falls  anywhere  from  the  middle  of 
October  to  the  middle  of  November,  then  come  three  or  four  weeks  of 
pleasant  weather  to  be  followed  by  another  rain,  this  time  very  likely 
accompanied  by  a  snowfall  in  the  mountains.  With  the  coming  of  the 
rains  the  land  begins  to  renew  its  verdure,  and  shortly  the  plains  are 
covered  with  the  richest  of  green  carpets.  Both  the  winds  that  regulate 
the  seasons  and  those  which  control  the  daily  temperature  are  exceedingly 
regular. 

The  commerce  of  California  centers  mainly  at  San  Francisco,  whose 
harbor  ranks  that  city  among  the  few  great  seaports  of  the  world.  Below 
Puget  Sound  the  best  harbor  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  with  the  single  notable 
exception  of  San  Francisco,  is  San  Diego;  but  this  seaport  unfortunately 
labors  under  the  disadvantage  of  lying  on  the  southern  edge  of  the  great 
agricultural  belt  of  southern  California,  thus  giving  to  San  Pedro,  though 

not  nearly  so  good  a  natural  harbor,  and  Santa 
Monica,  much  trade  which  would  otherwise 
have  fallen  to  its  share. 

California  still  leads  in  the  production  of 
gold.     Nearly  all  the  mines  are  on  the  western 
slope  and  in  the  foot-hills  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas 
in  a  belt  of  country  about  two  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  long  by  forty  miles  wide,  and  ex- 
tending   into   Oregon.     Besides    gold,  a  rich 
quality  of  silver  and  various  kinds  of 
iron  are  found;  also  tin,  copper,  zinc 
and  lead.     The  manufactures  of  the 
State  include  a  great  variety,  and  are 
.rapidly  growing  in  importance. 

The  most  widely  known  of  the 
educational  institutions  of  California 
is  the  Leland  Stanford  University, 
situated  at  Palo  Alto  and  formally 
opened  in  1891.  It  was  founded  by 

LELAND  STANFORD.  -^  n     •»«•  TI        Tctj.fi- 

Mr.    and   Mrs.    Leland    Stanford   in 

memory  of  their  son,  who  died  in  1884.  It  was  a  princely  gift  and  probably 
the  largest  and  most  valuable  donation  ever  given  by  one  man  for  the 
benefit  of  his  fellow  men.  The  Lick  Observatory,  erected  through  the 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


579 


LELAND  STANFORD  UNIVERSITY,  PALO  ALTO,  CALIFORNIA. 
Roble  Hall.          The  Museum.  Encina  Hall. 


580  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

generosity  of  James  Lick,  is  built  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Hamilton,  near 
San  Jose.  It  is  over  four  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  it 
was  necessary  to  remove  seven  thousand  tons  of  rock  from  the  summit  of 
the  mountain  in  order  to  get  a  level  platform.  This  most  powerful  tele- 
scope is  a  refractor  of  thirty-six  inches  clear  aperture. 

The  State  University  is  one  of  the  finest  institutions  of  the  kind  in  the 
country.  The  instruction  in  all  the  colleges  is  open  to  all  persons  without 
distinction  of  sex.  Besides  the  university  proper  at  Berkeley  there  is  the  Lick 
Astronomical  Department  at  Mount  Hamilton,  and  in  San  Francisco 
departments  of  Art,  Law,  Medicine,  Dentistry  and  Pharmacy.  The  uni- 
versity was  instituted  by  a  law  approved  in  1868  and  instruction  was 
begun  in  1869;  and  in  1873  it  was  formally  transferred  to  its  present  site.* 

In  1781,  when  the  Franciscans  established  a  mission  in  Los  Angeles,  it 
was  already  a  thriving  pueblo.  On  account  of  the  beauty  of  its  location, 
its  charming  climate  and  fertile  soil,  the  Spaniards  gave  it  a  name  which 
being  translated  means,  "the  town  of  the  queen  of  the  angels,"  which  was 
afterward  shortened  to  Los  Angeles.  It  was  not  until  Monroe  was  serving 
his  second  term  that  the  first  American  entered  the  precincts  of  the 
beautiful  town,  and  he  was  brought  there  by  the  Mexicans  as  a  prisoner. 
However,  he  liked  the  place  so  much  that  he  had  no  wish  to  leave,  but 
married  into  a  Spanish  family  and  settled  down  as  a  citizen. 

Two  years  later,  in  1824,  a  Scotchman  came  to  the  town  and  opened  a 
store  on  the  American  plan,  and  in  1831  the  Santa  Fe  trail  was  opened, 
and  by  creating  a  new  outlet  to  the  East  greatly  developed  trade.  Four 
years  later  the  town  achieved  the  importance  of  being  made  the  capital  of 
California,  and  in  1846,  when  war  had  been  declared  with  Mexico,  Fremont 
marched  into  Los  Angeles  and  raised  the  stars  and  stripes.  Don  Pio  Pico, 
who  was  then  the  Mexican  governor  of  California,  escaped  from  the  town 
at  the  time,  but  afterward  returned  and,  though  he  would  never  acknowl- 
edge that  the  Americans  had  any  right  to  California,  became  a  registered 
voter,  and  at  the  time  I  had  my  headquarters  there,  though  a  very  old  man, 
he  was  still  casting  his  ballot  with  all  the  regularity  of  a  native  of  the 
United  States.  When  Fremont  was  appointed  Governor  of  California  he 

*In  tills  connection  I  may  add  that  by  an  act  of  Congress  approved  July  17, 1884,  two  townships  of  land  were 
granted  to  the  Territory  of  Washington  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  university,  but  owing  to  the  vacillation 
of  the  Territorial  legislature,  nothing  was  actually  done  towards  erecting  a  building  until  1861.  In  March  of  that 
year  the  stone  of  the  university  building  was  placed  in  position  at  Seattle.  In  September,  1895,  the  university  was 
transferred  to  new  quarters  in  a  remarkably  beautiful  situation  some  distance  from  the  center  of  the  city.  The 
University  of  Washington  is  maintained  by  the  commonwealth  and  has  also  been  richly  endowed  with  lands  by 
the  government.  With  the  exception  of  the  department  of  music  and  law,  tuition  is  free  to  all  residents  of  the 
State  of  Washington,  and  is  open  to  both  sexes.  The  University  of  Oregon,  established  in  1872,  is  situated  in 
Eugene  and  was  endowed  at  the  start  with  $60,000. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


581 


established  his  headquarters  in  the  finest  house  in  Los  Angeles,  for,  as  an 
old  settler  once  remarked,  "  Fremont  always  would  have  the  best  of  every- 
thing." His  widow,  the  gifted  Jessie  Benton,  resides  there  now. 

The  soil  in  this  section  is  generally  very  rich,  even  the  so-called 
"  deserts  "  needing  only  irrigation  to  make  them  exceedingly  prolific.  The 
annual  rainfall  is  quite  sufficient  to  mature  many  of  the  crops,  though 
there  were  5,500,000  acres  under  irrigation  in  1894.  The  agricultural  fame 
of  southern  California  is  now  world  wide,  yet  twenty-five  years  ago  its 
inhabitants  imported  all  their  vegetables,  their  flour,  and  everything  else 
in  the  way  of  food  except  their  meat,  which  they  obtained  from  their 
flocks  and  herds.  Now  great  train  loads  of  these  very  products  are  shipped 
from  there  every  day. 

Upon  many  lands,  after  the  winter-sown  crop  has  been  harvested  with- 
out the  aid  of  irrigation,  another  crop  is  produced  with  the  aid  of  that 
important  auxiliary, 
thus  making  the  same 
land  do  double  duty. 
The  water  used  for  this 
purpose  is  obtained 
from  the  rivers,  small 
streams,  and  from  arte- 
sian wells.  The  first 
oranges  produced  in 
that  region  were  from 
trees  planted  at  Los 
Angeles,  and  now  the 
annual  shipment  aggre- 
gates many  thousands 
of  tons.  Fruit  culture 
of  all  kinds  is  exceed- 
ingly profitable,  and  the 
crops  are  simply  enormous.  Wheat,  rye,  barley  and  hops  are  largely 
produced. 

Los  Angeles,  the  chief  city  of  southern  California,  and  the  headquarters 
of  the  Department  of  Arizona,  is  situated  midway  between  the  mountains 
and  the  ocean,  the  Sierra  Madras  towering  up  fourteen  miles  to  the 
east,  while  the  broad  and  peaceful  Pacific  lies  the  same  distance  to  the 
west.  It  is  the  center  of  one  of  the  finest  agricultural  regions  in  the 
world. 


IRRIGATING  DITCHES.     ORANGE  GROVE. 


582  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

"  Where  the  grape  is  most  luscious,  where  laden, 

Long  branches  bend  double  with  gold; 
Los  Angeles  leans  like  a  maiden, 

Red,  blushing,  half  shy  and  half  bold." 

The  first  Protestant  preacher  arrived  in  1850,  with  his  entire  earthly 
possessions  contained  in  the  ox-cart  of  which  he  himself  was  the  chariot- 
eer. The  first  American  child  who  could  claim  Los  Angeles  as  his  native 
town  was  born  in  April,  1851,  and  the  birth  of  the  town's  first  newspaper 
was  chronicled  a  month  later.  By  1854  the  population  had  increased  to 
four  thousand,  though  only  five  hundred  were  Americans. 

Since  the  completion  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  Los  Angeles  has 
made  great  progress,  and  now  presents  an  odd  picture  of  the  combination 
of  a  sleepy  old  Spanish  pueblo  with  a  thriving,  progressive  American  city. 
The  Los  Angeles  River,  which  according  to  an  old  Spanish  grant  belongs  to 
the  city  from  its  mountain  source  downward,  runs  through  the  town,  and 
a  large  irrigating  system  is  included  in  the  municipality. 

Los  Angeles  is  an  extremely  cosmopolitan  city,  almost  every  nation 
under  the  sun  being  represented  among  her  inhabitants.  The  city  can 
boast  many  fine  educational  institutions,  and  numerous  churches  and 
philanthropic  societies.  Among  the  most  unique  of  its  charities  is  the 
Flower  Festival  Society,  which  each  year  gives  a  grand  floral  carnival  the 
proceeds  of  which  are  used  for  the  benefit  of  young  working  women. 

Although  not  usually  regarded  as  a  manufacturing  city,  nevertheless 
Los  Angeles  contains  a  large  number  of  extensive  factories.  Prominent 
among  these  are  a  number  of  iron  foundries,  several  flouring  and  feed 
mills,  a  dozen  planing  mills,  etc.  The  city  is  lighted  by  electricity,  and 
there  are  cable  and  electric  street  cars  which  take  one  to  every  part 
of  it.  The  chief  exports  to  the  East  are  dried  and  green  fruits,  wool,  wine 
and  vegetables.  During  the  season  the  exportation  of  oranges  is  enor- 
mous. The  climate  of  Los  Angeles  is  delightful  in  both  summer  and  winter, 
there  seldom  being  a  year  in  which  there  are  half  a  dozen  cloudy  days 
from  the  middle  of  May  to  the  middle  of  November. 

Santa  Barbara  is  another  important  and  beautiful  city  of  southern  Cali- 
fornia, and  is  widely  known  as  a  health  resort.  Monterey  is  undoubtedly 
the  most  beautiful  watering  place  on  this  continent,  if  not  in  the  world. 
Nature  and  art  have  been  lavish  in  its  adornment.  The  great  live  oaks, 
the  forests  of  pine,  cedar  and  spruce,  the  remarkable  groves  of  the  cedars 
of  Lebanon,  the  abundance  of  wild  flowers,  joined  to  what  the  skilled  florists 
and  architects  have  added,  make  it  a  most  interesting  and  attractive  place. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


583 


In  northern  California  among  the  chief  cities  are  Oakland,  Sacramento,  the 
capital,  and  most  important  of  all,  not  only  to  that  part  of  California  but 
to  the  whole  Pacific  Coast,  San  Francisco. 

When  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Franciscan 
fathers  were  making  their  little  exploring  expeditions  throughout  the 
southern  portion  of  California,  they  christened  the  lakes,  rivers  and  moun- 
tains they  discovered  in  honor  of  their  missions  and  various  saints  and 


ORANGE  GROVE  NEAR  Los  ANGELES.  R«nrmft  1  il  j  AJ'w 

angels.  One  of  these  priests  was  extremely  solicitous  that  the  patron  of 
his  order  should  not  be  neglected  in  this  distribution,  and  to  this  end  be- 
sought both  God  and  the  Virgin,  but  without  avail.  He  then  urged  the 
matter  upon  the  Visitador-General  Galvez  who  bluntly  replied :  "If  our 
seraphic  father,  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  would  have  his  name  to  signalize  some 
station  on  these  shores  let  him  show  us  a  good  haven."  This  being  the 
condition  of  affairs,  when  the  little  band  of  explorers  after  a  weary  journey 
along  the  rough  sea  coast  suddenly  found  themselves  on  a  high  point 


584  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

overlooking  a  broad,  peaceful,  nearly  land-locked  sheet  of  water,  dotted 
with  green  isles  inhabited  only  by  the  seals  and  sea  lions,  with  one  voice 
they  exclaimed  :  "Surely  this  must  be  the  bay  of  San  Francisco." 

Here,  during  the  very  year  which  witnessed  the  signing  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  on  the  eastern  border  of  our  continent,  was  planted 
the  presidio  of  San  Francisco,  and  near  the  Golden  Gate  a  fort  was  erected. 
The  present  city  began  its  growth  at  a  little  indentation  of  the  coast  three 
miles  from  this  point,  and  the  first  name  it  received  was  the  significant 
one  of  Yerba  Buena  —  good  herbs  or  grass.  At  the  time  when  Mexico  was 
throwing  off  the  yoke  of  Spain,  the  soldiers  of  the  presidio  were  faithful  to 
their  country  even  though,  owing  to  the  sad  state  of  the  finances  of  the 
home  government,  they  received  no  wages. 

In  1839  Yerba  Buena  was  laid  out  as  a  city;  a  public  plaza  being  first 
measured  off,  the  remainder  of  the  level  ground  was  utilized  as  building 
lots  and  was  divided  by  streets.  In  July,  1846,  when  the  American  flag 
was  first  given  to  the  breeze  on  the  plaza,  there  were  probably  two  hundred 
inhabitants  in  the  picturesque  little  village;  but  before  the  month  ended 
the  population  was  increased  by  a  colony  of  Mormons  from  New  York, 
who  were  a  most  diligent,  progressive  set  of  men,  and  among  other  bene- 
fits bestowed  upon  the  little  town  its  first  newspaper.  In  January,  1847, 
Yerba  Buena  was  transformed  into  San  Francisco  by  order  of  the  Ameri- 
can alcalde,  and  the  discovery  of  gold  the  next  year  wrought  a  complete 
transformation  in  San  Francisco  as  well  as  in  almost  every  other  part  of  Cali- 
fornia. Thither  flocked  men  of  every  race  and  clime  on  their  way  to  the 
gold  fields,  and  thither  they  returned  on  their  way  to  their  homes,  some 
jubilant  with  their  quota  of  the  precious  golden  ore,  and  others  bearing 
only  disappointed  hopes.  But  enough  remained  in  the  city  to  give  it  a 
population  of  twenty-five  thousand  by  the  end  of  1849.  Prices  in  the  little 
town  went  up  with  a  bound;  one  two-story  house  fronting  on  the  plaza 
rented  for  $120,000  a  year,  while  another  of  extremely  small  dimensions 
was  hired  for  the  exorbitant  sum  of  $3000  a  month.  Carpenters  who  were 
getting  twelve  dollars  a  day  struck  for  sixteen;  forty  dollars  was  the  price 
of  either  a  barrel  of  flour  or  a  pair  of  boots;  a  small  loaf  of  bread  cost  fifty 
cents  and  a  hard  boiled  egg  a  dollar.  The  only  currency  was  gold  dust, 
which  was  rated  at  $16  per  ounce,  and  was  weighed  out  in  scales  which 
were  to  be  found  at  every  place  of  business. 

At  this  period  in  San  Francisco  the  arrival  of  the  mail  steamer,  which 
occurred  two  or  three  times  a  month,  was  among  the  most  important  and 
exciting  of  events.  The  voluntary  exiles  who  made  up  the  principal  part 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  585 

of  the  population  could  only  hear  from  home  and  friends  and  all  they  held 
most  dear  through  the  medium  of  the  mail.  Thus  the  coming  of  each 
steamer  was  eagerly  looked  for,  and  became  an  important  event  in  their 
toilsome,  turbulent  lives.  The  line  before  the  postoffice  window  would 
begin  to  form  from  twelve  to  twenty  hours  before  the  mail  was  ready  for 
delivery,  and  gradually  lengthen  until  it  numbered  five  hundred  men  with 
anxious  hearts  waiting  for  the  letter,  which,  if  it  came,  might  either  fill 
their  hearts  with  joy  or  burden  them  with  an  additional  load  of  sorrow. 
Sometimes  a  ragamuffin,  who  had  early  secured  a  place  in  the  line,  as  he 
neared  the  window  would  be  able  to  sell  it  for  five,  ten,  or  even  twenty 
dollars.  It  is  said  that  one  young  man  whose  friends  proved  neglectful 
correspondents,  hit  upon  a  plan  of  writing  to  three  or  four  of  the  gossips 
of  his  town,  asking  the  price  of  land  and  stock  and  what  advantageous 
investments  could  be  secured.  This  expedient  was  so  successful  that  there- 
after never  a  mail  arrived  without  an  epistle  for  him. 

The  streets  of  San  Francisco,  ungraded,  unpaved,  cut  up  by  heavy 
teams,  and  used  as  a  dumping  ground  for  all  the  filth  and  rubbish  of  the 
town,  made  transit  at  all  times  difficult  and  disagreeable;  but  when  they 
were  transformed  by  the  winter  rains  into  a  perfect  swamp,  they  became 
almost  impassable.  Loads  of  brushwood  and  branches  of  trees  were  thrown 
into  these  quagmires,  and  boards  and  boxes  were  utilized  as  crossings;  but  in 
spite  of  all  precautions,  lives  were  sometimes  lost  by  suffocation  in  the 
mud.  Saloons  were  plentiful,  and  gambling  was  the  occupation  of  many 
and  the  recreation  of  all,  with  almost  no  exceptions.  Those  were  the  days 
when  "might  made  right,"  depredations  and  assaults  were  common  offenses, 
and  there  was  absolutely  no  one  to  enforce  law  and  order.  Murders  were 
committed  by  the  hundred,  but  never  a  murderer  was  hanged.  A  gang  of 
young  men  calling  themselves  "regulators,"  but  more  commonly  known 
as  "hounds,"  paraded  the  town  by  day,  and  by  night  raided  the  stores  and 
saloons  and  taverns.  At  last  patience  was  exhausted  and  in  July,  1849,  a 
meeting  of  "all  good  citizens"  was  called  to  devise  some  means  to  put  a 
stop  to  this  state  of  affairs,  and  this  was  the  forerunner  of  the  celebrated 
Vigilance  Committee  of  1851. 

Still  affairs  did  not  improve.  Fire  after  fire  desolated  the  unfortunate 
city,  the  last  one,  which  occurred  in  May,  1851,  so  far  exceeding  the  rest 
that  it  was  known  as  the  "great  fire."  The  whole  business  portion  of  the 
town  was  a  mass  of  flames,  the  reflection  of  which  is  said  to  have  been 
visible  a  hundred  miles  away,  and  nearly  everything  was  destroyed.  It 
was  the  firm  belief  of  many  that  the  fire  was  due  to  incendiarism.  Another 


586 


PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 


conflagration  occurred  in  June,  and  those  who  were  suspected  of  being  the 
cause  of  it  were  arrested,  but  it  was  impossible  to  secure  their  conviction, 
and  robberies  and  murders  became  more  and  more  common,  until  at  last 
it  was  the  general  feeling  that  forbearance  had  ceased  to  be  a  virtue. 
Then  the  famous  Vigilance  Committee  was  formally  organized  "to  watch, 
pursue  and  bring  to  justice  the  outlaws  infesting  the  city,  through  the  sys- 
tem of  the  courts  if  possible,  through  more  summary  processes  if  neces- 
sary." The  committee  did  such  extremely  effective  work  that  at  the  end 
of  thirty  days  it  was  able  to  quietly  disband.  It  was  afterward  reorgan- 
ized, and  was  equally  efficacious  in  1856,  when  the  city  was  threatened 
with  similar  dangers.  And  once  more  in  1877  this  unique  force  came  to 
the  front  in  the  interests  of  order  and  justice,  but  this  time  under  very 
different  auspices. 

Although  San  Francisco  was  almost  entirely  destroyed  by  the  terrible 

fire  of   1851,  the  enter- 

y  i _^t_       prising  citizens  were  by 

no  means  discouraged, 
but  straightway  went  to 
work  to  rebuild  their 
city,  and  by  1852  there 
were  few  characteristics 
of  a  Spanish  town  re- 
maining in  San  Fran- 
cisco. It  had  now  as- 
sumed a  more  regular 
aspect,  and  substantial 
houses  took  the  place  of 
the  huts  of  former  years, 
though  most  of  the 
structures  were  of  wood, 
as  brick  and  stone  were  so  hard  to  obtain,  and  there  was  a  general  dread 
of  earthquakes. 

The  modern  city  is  a  strangely  foreign-looking  place,  especially  when 
viewed  from  the  harbor.  The  business  portion  of  the  town  lies  at  the  foot 
of  several  hills  on  which  most  of  the  residences  are  built.  These  dwellings 
are  even  now  more  commonly  built  of  wood,  but,  fear  of  earthquakes  hav- 
ing somewhat  abated,  brick  and  stone  structures  have  commenced  to  go 
up.  The  cable  cars  were  first  invented  and  used  at  San  Francisco,  and 
when  the  hills  on  which  the  city  is  built  are  considered,  a  better  mode  of 


MARKET  STREET,  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES.  587 

transportation  could  not  be  devised.  Market  Street,  a  stately  thorough- 
fare of  which  the  residents  are  very  proud,  runs  southwest  from  the  bay 
and  divides  the  older  from  the  newer  portion  of  the  city.  It  finds  an 
almost  level  way  through  the  city,  despite  the  hills,  and  on  either  side  rise 
great  buildings  like  the  Palace  Hotel,  one  of  the  most  perfect  buildings  of 
its  kind  in  the  world,  the  Chronicle  Building  and  many  others.  Here  the 
crowds  gather  in  the  greatest  numbers,  and  remind  one  somewhat  of  Broad- 
way, New  York.  Among  the  new  public  buildings  may  be  mentioned  the 
City  Hall,  a  fine  structure  that  cost  $4,000,000.  There  is  also  a  branch  of 
the  United  States  Mint  here.  As  natural  in  so  progressive  a  city,  San  Fran- 
cisco has  many  fine  educational  institutions,  as  well  as  numerous  churches; 
the  church  buildings  recently  erected  have  shown  a  marked  improvement 
in  architectural  design,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  many  of  the  new  resi- 
dences. Few  cities  are  more  delightfully  or  more  healthfully  located  than 
San  Francisco,  facing  as  it  does  the  beautiful  harbor  and  the  Golden  Gate, 
and  being  built  upon  high  dry  ground.  The  scenery  around  it  is  most 
picturesque  and  inspiring.  From  homes  overlooking  the  harbor,  you  can 
drive  out  through  the  Golden  Gate  Park,  which  is  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful parks  in  the  United  States,  and  combines  the  picturesque  splendors  of 
tropical  climes  with  the  fragrance  of  the  live-oak,  fern,  pine  and  cedar  of 
the  temperate  zone;  and  thence  through  fields  adorned  with  trees  and 
flowers,  shaded  avenues  and  glens,  lakes  and  fountains,  you  come  directly 
to  the  bold  surf  where  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  are  dashed  against  the 
rocks  of  the  great  cliffs,  and  where  the  seals  are  seen  sporting  in  the  foam- 
ing billows  or  basking  in  the  sun  upon  the  rocks,  the  whole  giving  one  a 
picture  vividly  contrasting  the  wildness  and  grandeur  of  natural  scenery 
with  the  art  and  culture  of  an  enlightened  community. 

It  was  Andrew  Jackson  who  said,  "upon  the  success  of  our  manufac- 
tures as  a  hand-maid  of  agriculture  and  commerce  depends  in  great  meas- 
ure the  prosperity  of  our  country,"  and  San  Francisco  has  not  been 
unmindful  of  this  wise  axiom,  for  its  manufactures  are  yearly  increasing  in 
importance  and  variety.  It  has  great  foundries  and  immense  flouring 
mills,  and  boasts  the  oldest  cordage  factory  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  This 
factory  was  established  in  1859,  and  now  covers  sixteen  acres.  The  Union 
Iron  Works  have  built  several  ships  of  war,  including  the  "Charleston," 
"San  Francisco  "and  "Monterey." 

The  great  Midwinter  Fair,  opened  on  the  first  of  January,  1894,  was 
held  in  the  Golden  Gate  Park  —  a  most  beautiful  spot.  There  were 
three  hundred  buildings,  said  to  have  cost  $1,500,000,  in  the  grounds. 


588  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

The  fair  was  a  decided  success  financially,  and  was  of  great  benefit 
to  the  city  in  tiding  it  over  the  period  of  extreme  dullness  in  trade 
and  stimulating  many  branches  of  trade.  Its  benefits  were  not 
merely  local,  for  it  had  a  good  influence  that  was  felt  along  the  entire 
coast. 

It  is  as  a  commercial  center  that  San  Francisco  is  best  known.  Through 
the  Golden  Gate,  or  Chrysopylse,  come  vessels  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
to  anchor  on  the  broad  bosom  of  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco.  This  beau- 
tiful bay  is  seventy  miles  long,  from  ten  to  fifteen  in  width,  and  narrows 
to  a  channel  only  one  mile  wide  at  the  entrance.  In  this  harbor  may  be 
seen  vessels  from  China,  Hawaii,  Japan,  Australia  and  Panama.  Huge 
Chinese  junks,  the  queer  feluccas  of  the  Maltese  and  Greeks,  and  the  great 
war  ships  of  the  United  States,  Great  Britain,  France,  Russia  and  other 
powers,  all  help  to  lend  variety  to  the  beautiful  scene. 

At  the  upper  end  of  the  bay  is  located,  on  Mare  Island,  the  United  States 
Navy  Yard,  a  most  important  and  valuable  national  establishment,  land- 
locked and  well  protected.  Here  we  see  floating  on  its  waters  the  "Co- 
manche,"  the  "  Swatara,"  the  "  Omaha  "  and  the  "  Pensacola  ;  also  the 
wooden  battle  ship  "  Hartford,"  once  the  flag  ship  of  the  greatest  Admiral 
of  his  time,  Farragut,  the  sight  of  which  almost  prompts  one  to  raise  his 
hat  in  reverence  for  the  heroic  deeds  of  this  ship  of  war  and  the  skill  of  its 
indomitable  commander  who  defied  not  only  the  destructive  engines 
beneath  the  surface,  but  also  the  batteries  on  land  and  sea  which  sank 
part  of  his  fleet  and  crashed  through  the  rigging  where  he  was  lashed. 
There  also  is  the  "Miantonomah,"  one  of  the  famous  ships  of  the  Monitor 
class. 

At  Hunter's  Point  is  a  great  dry  dock  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in 
length  hewn  out  of  the  solid  rock.  San  Francisco  will  naturally  become 
the  center  of  a  great  ship-building  industry,  not  only  because  of  its  posi- 
tion, but  because  there  is  scarcely  another  place  on  the  continent  whose 
climate  is  so  suitable  for  the  purpose  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  and  be- 
cause in  some  respects  the  ship  timber  of  that  region  is  the  finest  in  the 
world. 

San  Francisco  is  still  ahead  of  any  competitors  on  the  Pacific  Coast, 
though  there  are  large  towns  of  importance  fast  growing  up  which  force 
her  to  look  well  to  her  laurels.  It  was  the  opinion  of  William  H.  Seward, 
that  in  the  future  the  Pacific  Ocean  with  its  eighty  millions  of  square 
miles,  "will  be  the  scene  of  man's  greatest  achievements."  And  if  that  be 
so,  there  are  scarcely  any  limits  to  the  great  possibilities  of  San  Francisco's 


GENERAL  NELSON  A.  MILES. 


589 


as    it  is   on    a    harbor   unequaled   in   that   quarter   of 


future,  situated 
the  world. 

"  Serene,  indifferent  of  Fate 
Thou  sittest  at  the  Western  gate; 
Upon  thy  heights  so  lately  won 
Still  slant  the  banners  of  the  sun; 
Thou  seest  the  white  seas  strike  their  tents 
O,  Warder  of  two  continents  !" 

The  people  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  are  as  a  rule  most  enterprising,  intelligent 
and  ambitious,  and  they  are  exceedingly  generous  and  hospitable.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  the  West  is  crude  or  uncultivated.  The  strongest, 
most  resolute,  enterprising  and  ambitious  of  our  men  have  gone  West! 
They  have  either  car- 
ried with  them  or  have 
returned  for  those 
cheerful  companions 
who  are  prompted  by 
love  and  devotion  to 
accompany  the  pioneers 
.  to  their  Western  homes. 
While  their  material  in- 
terests have  been  in  the 
Western  country,  their 
fond  memories  and  at- 
tachments have  re- 
mained in  the  East,  and 
in  the  frequent journeys 
they  have  made  back  to 
.the  old  homesteads  and  the  Eastern  centers  of  business  and  civilization, 
they  have  brought  their  children  with  them.  In  this  way  the  youth  have 
become  familiar  with  our  entire  country,  as  well  as  with  the  section  to 
which  all  are  naturally  most  attached  as  being  the  place  of  their  birth. 
As  these  children  have  grown  up,  and  after  passing  through  the  primary 
and  high  schools,  they  have  been  sent  East  to  complete  their  education 
at  the  great  colleges  of  Harvard,  Yale,  Princeton,  Bowdoin,  Wellesley, 
Smith,  Vassar,  and  many  other  important  educational  institutions.  Then, 
returning  to  their  Western  homes,  they  have  in  many  cases  made  a  tour  of 
travel  and  observation,  often  passing  out  at  the  Golden  Gate,  or  the  Straits 
of  Juan  de  Fuca,  and  making  the  round  of  the  world.  So  we  find  the 
native  population  that  has  grown  up  on  the  Pacific  slope  as  refined, 


A  SCENE  IN  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA. 


590  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

intelligent,  and  quite  as  well  informed,  especially  concerning  their  own 
country,  as  those  of  the  Eastern  States. 

The  long  and  interesting  journey  across  the  continent  has  been  com- 
pleted; a  journey  fraught  with  many  vicissitudes  and  many  interesting  in- 
cidents. It  has  witnessed  many  historic  scenes.  It  has  had  many  dark 
hours  of  great  anxiety  and  uncertainty,  mingled  with  forebodings  of  evil 
for  the  future  condition  of  our  country.  It  has  witnessed  the  terrible 
ordeals  and  sacrifices  of  war,  as  well  as  the  fascination  and  exhilaration  of 
victory  and  the  restoration  of  perpetual  peace.  It  has  known  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  cause  of  disaffection  and  hostility,  and  the  reunion  of  the 
elements  in  a  stronger,  more  perfect,  purer,  grander,  nobler  bond  of  union. 
It  has  seen  the  building  up  of  waste  places,  and  the  restoration  of  frater- 
nal feeling;  the  return  of  the  most  generous  magnanimity  and  the  most 
bountiful  charity.  It  has  beheld  the  transformation  of  the  wild  wastes 
and  the  desolate,  unproductive  regions  of  our  country  to  the  scenes  of 
vast  industries,  progressive  civilization  and  universal  prosperity.  It  has 
followed  the  gradual  march  of  civilization  toward  the  western  horizon. 
Westward  the  course  of  empire  has  taken  its  way,  and  the  center  of 
population  now  creeps  Westward  to  the  region  beyond  the  Mississippi.  What 
the  future  destiny  of  that  great  Western  portion  of  our  continent  shall  be, 
no  one  can  foretell  or  prophesy.  No  one  can  forecast  what  great  interests, 
local  and  national,  will  center  around  the  Mediterranean  of  the  Pacific  slope, 
the  Hudson  of  the  West,  and  the  Golden  Gate  of  Cali  f  ornia ;  or  what  proportions 
the  commerce  of  these  great  Pacific  States  may  assume;  or  what  naval  bat- 
tles shall  yet  be  fought  for  the  defense  or  possession  of  that  great  coast. 

With  much  reluctance  I  bid  my  Western  friends  and  their  most  inter- 
esting country  adieu.  I  hope  that  I  may  again  visit  that  coast,  going  by 
quite  a  different  route  than  by  those  seven  railway  lines  by  which  I  have 
been  accustomed  to  cross  and  recross  the  continent.  I  trust  that  great 
enterprise  will  be  soon  undertaken  and  speedily  completed  that  shall 
divide  the  great  isthmus,  yet  unite  in  still  stronger  bonds  of  interest  and 
friendship  the  two  great  geographic  divisions  of  our  country. 

Should  the  readers  of  these  pages  find  themselves  any  better  informed 
concerning  our  Western  country  and  people  than  before  reading  them,  and 
should  they  find  enough  in  them  to  kindle  a  patriotic  emotion  or  awaken 
a  becoming  pride  concerning  their  own  great  country,  my  efforts  and  am- 
bition will  have  been  amply  rewarded;  and  1  wish  every  happiness  and 
prosperity  to  attend  my  compagnons  de  voyage  from  New  England  to 
the  Golden  Gate. 


GENERAL    NELSON  A.  MILES. 


591 


•  .  ,  .  ' 


